From ianst@qdpii.ind.dpi.qld.gov.au Wed Mar 16 10:47:58 1994 Date: Wed, 16 Mar 1994 10:07:10 GMT From: Ian Staples To: sustag-public@twosocks.ces.ncsu.edu Subject: Identity of Dhaincha solved (it's a _Sesbania_) Thanks to everyone who replied to my request for help in identifying the mysterious "dhaincha". From the context of the original reference that stared the chase, there is no doubt dhaincha is a sesbania. But there is still scope for some argument about the species - sounds like it might be time for a good revision of _Sesbania_ [anyone know of one done recently?]. There was some minor confusion due to the similarity of "dhaincha" to the Hindi "dhania" or coriander. Fortunately, this small red herring arrived after the clue to the real thing had been investigated, so no false trails were followed :-) For those who may be interested, here is a synopsis of what I found:- Reference: Evans, D.O. and Rotar, P.P. (1987) "Sesbania in Agriculture" (Westview Press, Boulder & London) Pp. xiii+192. To quote: "Because of the ability of _Sesbania_ species to grow in heavy soils, withstand waterlogging and flooding, and tolerate soil salinity, they are often the preferred green manure crop for rice. 'Dhaincha', the common name of the species used in India, is often designated as _S. aculeata_ which was revised to _S. bispinosa_. The name _S. cannabina_ is usually given for the annual sesbania used in China, and is occasionally used by Indian writers." (p. 27) E&R go on to say that there appears to be confusion in the naming of these three species, plus _S. sericea_. They received seed under all these names and the plants were similar in morphological and agronomic characteristics when grown in Hawaii. Botanical specimens sent to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, England, were all named as _S. cannabina_ (by one G.P. Lewis). Going on the above and other sources, there seems little doubt that the name _S. aculeata_ Pers. is now regarded as synonymous with the correct name _S. bispinosa_ (Jacq.) Wight. And _S. cannabina_ may actually be the same species too, in which case I don't know which name would take precedence :) -- Ian Staples E-mail : ianst@dpi.qld.gov.au c/- P.O. Box 1054 MAREEBA Phone : +61 (0)70 921 555 Home 924 847 Queensland Australia 4880 Fax : +61 (0)70 923 593 " " " From steved@ncatfyv.uark.edu Fri Mar 18 10:11:19 1994 Date: Thu, 17 Mar 1994 09:32:26 -0500 (EST) From: Steve Diver To: Ian Staples Cc: sustag-public@twosocks.ces.ncsu.edu Subject: Re: Identity of Dhaincha solved (it's a _Sesbania_) > Thanks to everyone who replied to my request for help in identifying > the mysterious "dhaincha". From the context of the original reference > that stared the chase, there is no doubt dhaincha is a sesbania. Ian et al-- Well I'll be a Leprachaun, dhaincha is indeed sesbania and not crotalaria. I'd say I was off base by at least a genus :-) Thanks for posting the correct information. I've done some investigation for farmers looking at alternative green manures and fiber crops such as sesbania and crotalaria and also have several sources to offer on sesbania. Both are more widely used in India than here in the U.S. Literature sources on sesbania: Whyte, R.O., et al. 1953. Legumes in Agriculture. FAO Agricultural Studies No. 21. Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome. p. 321-322. Ghai, S.K., et al. 1985. Comparative study of the potential of sesbanias for green manuring. Tropical Agriculture (Trinidad) 62(1): 52-56. Evans, Dale O., and Peter P. Rotar. 1987. Productivity of Sesbania species. Tropical Agriculture (Trinidad) 64(3): 193-200. Also: Duke, James A. 1983. Handbook of World Legumes of Economic Importance. Plenum Press, New York. p. 216-219. Duke lists "danchi" as one of the common names for S. bispinosa, and one of his references is titled "Composition of dhanchia fiber (Sesbania aculeata). Science Cult. 39(10): 473-474. Also: Yost, R., and D. Evans. 1988. Green Manures and Legume Covers in the Tropics. Hawaii Agricultural Experiment Station. Hitahr College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. Research Series 055. 44 p. "In India, it is commonly called "dhaincha." Also: Dr. Robert Bugg at UC-Davis has done work with sesbania (and other cover crops) as insectary habitat for beneficial insects. "Grown as a summer green manure, Sesbania (S. axaltata) often harbors cowpea aphid and bandedwingend whitefly, and has proven useful for retaining lady beetles when pecan aphids become depleted." "May enhance biological control through providing alternate prey. Harbored bandedwinged white fly and relatively high densisites of cowpea aphid." Bugg, R.L., and J.D. Dutcher. 1989. Warm-season cover crops for pecan orchards: Horticultural and entomological implications. Biol. Agric. Hort. 6: 123-148. Steve Diver Fayetteville, AR > Reference: > > Evans, D.O. and Rotar, P.P. (1987) "Sesbania in Agriculture" > (Westview Press, Boulder & London) Pp. xiii+192. > > To quote: "Because of the ability of _Sesbania_ species to grow in heavy > soils, withstand waterlogging and flooding, and tolerate soil salinity, > they are often the preferred green manure crop for rice. 'Dhaincha', > the common name of the species used in India, is often designated as > _S. aculeata_ which was revised to _S. bispinosa_. The name _S. cannabina_ > is usually given for the annual sesbania used in China, and is occasionally > used by Indian writers." (p. 27) > > E&R go on to say that there appears to be confusion in the naming of these > three species, plus _S. sericea_. They received seed under all these names > and the plants were similar in morphological and agronomic characteristics > when grown in Hawaii. Botanical specimens sent to the Royal Botanic Gardens > at Kew, England, were all named as _S. cannabina_ (by one G.P. Lewis). > > Going on the above and other sources, there seems little doubt that the name > _S. aculeata_ Pers. is now regarded as synonymous with the correct name > _S. bispinosa_ (Jacq.) Wight. And _S. cannabina_ may actually be the same > species too, in which case I don't know which name would take precedence :) > -- > > Ian Staples E-mail : ianst@dpi.qld.gov.au > c/- P.O. Box 1054 MAREEBA Phone : +61 (0)70 921 555 Home 924 847 > Queensland Australia 4880 Fax : +61 (0)70 923 593 " " " >