Scarcity of animal food, particularly green forage during the dry season is a serious problem for the farmers in the Eastern Hills of Nepal and it is one of the biggest constraints to the promotion of livestock development. Forage legumes, which remain green during the dry season, can play  an important role by providing  good quality fodder during this period .Thirty-two forage legume species were imported from Australia and sown at Pakhribas Agricultural Centre's south farm (1520 masl) in June 1987. The experiment was conducted under local farmer condition (No chemical fertilizers and irrigation were applied). Observations on germination, flowering, podding and seed yield were taken for one year followed by biomass production in the second year .The main objective was to find out if any of the forage species could remain green and produce green fodder during the dry season (November to May). Cassia rotundifolia cv. Wynn, Desmodium introtum cv. Green leaf,   Desmodium  uncinatum cv. Silverleaf, Neonotonia wightii cv.Clarence,  Stylosanthes  guianensis  cv." Graham and Vicia dasycarpa  cv. Nomoi  haveproved   to be the most promising  species. All the species are perennial   except Vicia dasycarpa. The highest green matter yield during dry season was obtained from Desmodium intortum (4.7 t/ha), followed by Vicia dasycarpa (4.5 t/ha), Desmodium uncinatum (3.4 t/ha), Stylosanthes guianensis (1.5 t/ha), Neonotonia wightii ( 1.1t/ha) and Cassia rotundifolia (0.4 t/ha). During this period four cuttings were taken from all the species except Vicia dasycarpa, from which only two cuttings could be taken. A total of eight cuttings were taken from all the species except Vicia dasycarpa, from which only two cut­tings were obtained. Total annual green matter yield  of  Desmodium  intortum, Stylosanthes quianensis, Desmodi­ um uncinatum, Neonotonia wightii,  Vicia  dasycarpa  and  Cassia rotundifolia  was 24.6t,  16.9t, 9.9t,  7.9, 4.5t and 3.8t per hectare respectively. The preliminary results of this study reveal that the above mentioned species can be a potential source of forage during the dry season in the Eastem Hills of Nepal.

Scarcity of animal food, particularly green forage during the dry season is a serious problem for the farmers in the Eastern Hills of Nepal and it is one of the biggest constraints to the promotion of livestock development. Forage legumes, which remain green during the dry season, can play  an important role by providing  good quality fodder during this period .Thirty-two forage legume species were imported from Australia and sown at Pakhribas Agricultural Centre's south farm (1520 masl) in June 1987. The experiment was conducted under local farmer condition (No chemical fertilizers and irrigation were applied). Observations on germination, flowering, podding and seed yield were taken for one year followed by biomass production in the second year .The main objective was to find out if any of the forage species could remain green and produce green fodder during the dry season (November to May). Cassia rotundifolia cv. Wynn, Desmodium introtum cv. Green leaf,   Desmodium  uncinatum cv. Silverleaf, Neonotonia wightii cv.Clarence,  Stylosanthes  guianensis  cv." Graham and Vicia dasycarpa  cv. Nomoi  haveproved   to be the most promising  species. All the species are perennial   except Vicia dasycarpa. The highest green matter yield during dry season was obtained from Desmodium intortum (4.7 t/ha), followed by Vicia dasycarpa (4.5 t/ha), Desmodium uncinatum (3.4 t/ha), Stylosanthes guianensis (1.5 t/ha), Neonotonia wightii ( 1.1t/ha) and Cassia rotundifolia (0.4 t/ha). During this period four cuttings were taken from all the species except Vicia dasycarpa, from which only two cuttings could be taken. A total of eight cuttings were taken from all the species except Vicia dasycarpa, from which only two cut­tings were obtained. Total annual green matter yield  of  Desmodium  intortum, Stylosanthes quianensis, Desmodi­ um uncinatum, Neonotonia wightii,  Vicia  dasycarpa  and  Cassia rotundifolia  was 24.6t,  16.9t, 9.9t,  7.9, 4.5t and 3.8t per hectare respectively. The preliminary results of this study reveal that the above mentioned species can be a potential source of forage during the dry season in the Eastem Hills of Nepal.