Abstract
The results are reported of an experiment on the Lilongwe Plain to investigate the effects of close grazing (with sheep) or cutting on the productivity of seven cultivars of six tropical legume species. They confirmed that over a four year ley period Desmodium uncinatum cv. 'Silverleaf' and Macroptilium atropurpureum cv. 'Siratro' tolerate frequent close defoliation better than a number of other legumes. The performance of the legumes under cutting was better than under grazing although in the fourth season the cut plots of Stylosanthes guianensis suffered from termite attack. The desirability of evaluating legume species under grazing is discussed.
