4. Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr. Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Pers.

Sesbania species 

4. Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr. Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Pers. 

1. Introduction and Main Uses 

Sesbania sesban and Sesbania grandiflora are important agroforestry species. The Genus 

is within the family Leguminosea and therefore they have the ability to improve soil 

through the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen. The original home of these species is open 

to conjecture but S. seban is thought to be native to Egypt. It has the common name of 

Egyptian pea or River hemp. The following synonyms apply to S. sesban: - 

Aeschynomene sesban L. 

Emerus sesban (L.) Kuntze 

Sesban aegyptiaca Poiret 

Sesbania aegyptiaca Poiret 

Sesbania confaloniana (Chiov.) Chiov. 

Sesbania pubescens sensu auct 

S.grandiflora has the common names of Agati, Corkwood Tree and West Indian Pea. 

S.sesban is very common throughout Africa 

and in Asian countries such as India, Malaysia, 

Indonesia and the Philippines where it is 

commonly seen growing on the dikes between 

rice paddies, along roadsides and in backyard 

vegetable gardens. Members of the genus 

Sesbania spp can be described as soft, semi or 

slightly woody, 1-8 m tall perennial nitrogen 

fixing trees. Sesbania sesban can grow up to 8 

metre and obtain a diameter of up to 12 cm. 

Growth is extremely rapid, on the right sites it 

can reach 4-5 m in just 6 months. 

The species has been widely planted and has a 

long history throughout Africa and Asia 

including India. Sesbania sesban has proved to 

be extremely popular due to in part to its fast 

growth and also because of its wide use as 

fuelwood and for fodder. It has also proved to 

be extremely tolerant of a wide range of sites 

including those which can be regarded as difficult such as saline, waterlogged. Being a 

legume, the tree fixes nitrogen and has proved to be popular as a fallow species and as a 

agroforestry species 

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. 

The leaves are compound 12-18 cm long made up of 6-27 pairs of leaflets. The raceme 

has 2-20 flowers which are yellow with purple or brown streaks on the corolla. Pods are 

subcylindrical, straight or slightly curved up to 30 cm long and 5 mm wide containing 10- 

50 seeds. 

S. grandiflora has similar leaves of 15–30 cm long, with 16–30 pairs of linear oblong 

leaflets. Racemes 2.5 cm long. Flowers 2–4, white to pink and can be as much as 10 cm 

in diameter. The pods are longer and within the range of 50–60 cm. 

2. Site Requirements 

Sesbania sesban is most suitable for altitudes between 200-500 m but will tolerate a wide 

altitude range and in Kenya it has demonstrated acceptable growth on sites in excess of 

2,000 m. In broad terms, S. sesban is more suitable for the drier sites, whereas S. 

grandiflora is more suitable for the wetter/humid sites. S. sesban is outstanding in its 

ability to tolerate water-logging and is ideally suited to seasonally waterlogged 

environments. When flooded, it initiates floating adventitious roots and protects its stems, 

roots and nodules with spongy, aerenchyma tissue. The acceptable rainfall range for S. 

sesban is wide between 500-2,000 mm. Another outstanding feature is its tolerance of 

both saline and alkaline soil conditions. However, its tolerance of highly acid, aluminium 

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saturated soils is not known. S. grandiflora shows the same wide tolerance of soils and 

s 

Map extracted from Tropical Forages Factsheet 

site; compared to S. sesban, it is more tolerant of humid conditions and is considered for 

sites between sea level and 800m.but again it has demonstrated acceptable growth up to 

2,000 m. It can be considered for sites where rainfall is within the range 1,000 – 2,000 

mm and there is a minimal dry season 

3. Seed sources 

Sesbania species tend to seed prolifically and from an early age. It is thought that 

Sesbania sesban is pollinated by bees, whilst the larger flowers of S. grandiflora are 

pollinated by birds. The seed can be easily harvested and can be grown without problems 

from both seed or from cuttings. There has been breeding work carried out on various 

Sesbania species but more from the viewpoint of improving the quality of the fodder 

rather than the level of production of fuelwood. 

4. Nursery Practice 

Seeds of S. sesban have a hard seed coat and scarification is recommended to ensure 

uniform seed germination, though it would appear that this is not essential and adequate 

germination is possible without special treatment. Where scarification is to be carried out 

this can be done using either acid or abrasion techniques. 

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If it is intended to raise the crop using seedling stock then it is normal to use container 

stock made from standard plastic sleeves or bags (lay-flat 7.5 x 10 or 10 x 15 cm ). 

Seeds can be directly sown into the tubes or an intermediate germination bed can be used, 

from which the germinated stock are pricked out into the tubes. The soil used for the 

containers should be freely draining (avoid heavy clays) ideally with a pH of between 6- 

8. Since Sesbania species are legumes, soil inoculation with the right strain of Rhizobium 

is desirable if the crop is going to develop to its full potential. Domergues et al (1998) 

recommend inoculation with the appropriate strain of Sinorhizobium teranga when the 

natural rhizobial population is inadequate for S. sesban, however again the need for this 

treatment is questionable and in most cases, adequate rhizobial populations are available 

within the planting site. The seedlings grow quickly in the nursery and should have 

obtained a suitable size for planting out (20 cm) within 2-3 months, providing the nursery 

is subject to moderate-high temperatures 

5. Site Preparation 

The site should be cleared and prepared well in advance of the likely planting date. It 

should be prepared to agricultural standards with all competing weeds removed. If 

possible, the site should be ploughed and harrowed where there is the opportunity of 

having recourse to the use of agricultural machinery. Following the onset of the rains and 

the wetting of the upper 30 cm of soil, planting can commence. If tubed stock is being 

used, the plastic sleeves should be carefully split using a sharp knife to avoid distortion of 

the roots. When establishment is being made using cuttings a quarter of the stem should 

be inserted into the ground and firmed into position. 

Planting pits of adequate dimensions to take the tube should be dug in advance of 

planting. For biomass production under a SRC management regime, the espacement will 

be of the order of 1 x 1 metres or 1 x 2 metres (10,000 – 5,000 sph). Where Sesbania is 

being established along with another crop in an agroforestry or mixed cropping 

management system, then the planting design will vary with the overall management 

objectives. It is popular as an agroforestry crop with such crops as cotton, maize and 

vegetable crops since it provides green manure and useful shade and wind protection. and 

in such circumstances can be grown as an alley crop. 

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Sesbania sesban growing as an agroforestry crop (from Tropical Forages Factsheet) 

Direct sowing into the planting site can be successful and avoids the cost and work 

associated with nursery management, where the trees are to be used as shade trees for 

coconut then this method has been used to good effect; however it is not a technique to be 

recommended for plantations being established for energy production since gaps are 

inevitable and in addition there will be a need for more intensive weeding. 

Management Practice 

Biomass Production. Sesbania demonstrates good coppicing ability and therefore for 

biomass production, this is the preferred method of management. The crop is coppiced at 

intervals of no more than a few years depending on the size of material required. A 

balance is needed between very frequent coppicing which tends to direct too much 

energy into leaf production compared to useful biomass. However the first coppicing 

should be carried out within a year after planting in order to encourage a greater number 

of growing shoots and lead to higher yields in the future. The main advantage of Sesbania 

is its extremely rapid growth in the first year, canopy closure should therefore be realized 

within months and weeding will no longer be required. However prior to this being 

achieved, the crop should be kept well weeded to ensure good establishment and minimal 

losses. 

It is found to be beneficial if the first cut is carried out after just one year as this promotes 

the production of multiple stems and tends to improve overall productivity. Normally 

with coppicing, the cut is made at a height of around 20 cm; however in Sri Lanka, there 

has been found to be a good response to pollarding at waist height with other SRC 

(particularly Gliricidia sepium). The regrowth is then cut at short intervals as it reaches 

the minimum required size. This technique could be tried with Sesbania. In India it is 

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recommended that Sesbania sesban plantations for fuel or pulpwood production should 

be harvested in the second year after planting and coppiced annually for 2-3 years. 

The wood has a low- medium density with a specific gravity of 0.40-0.45 at 12% 

moisture content. This is rather low for high quality fuelwood, however S. sesban is 

popular for fuelwood because it produces a woody biomass in a short time which, though 

soft, is a relatively smokeless, quick, hot burning kindling. Similarly S. grandiflora is 

also grown for fuelwood widely within Asia. 

Other Products 

Sesbania whilst being grown for biomass as the main product will also provide 

substantial leaf material that can be used as a green manure or as an animal fodder. Both 

species can be used for fodder, though there are indications that S.grandiflora is less 

acceptable due to the possible bitterness of the leaves and pods. If fodder is to be the 

main product then the management regime would be modified for that used to grow 

fuelwood. Cutting management has a very important influence on productivity. S. sesban 

thrives under repeated cutting and coppices readily with many branches arising from the 

main stem below cutting height. In India cutting frequencies have generally been in the 

order of three or four cuts yearly but up to eight cuts per year have been taken in some. 

Yields have ranged from 4 to 12 t dry matter/ha/year depending upon location (Suttie, 

FAO). 

Duke (1983) reports that S. grandiflora planted in India at 90 cm intervals, yields 4.5– 

9.1 kg leaves/yr, which translates to around 12,000 plants per hectare yielding 50–100 

MT leaves per year per hectare; since about 75% is water, he estimates that the DM yield 

would be of the order of 12–25 MT/ha. He also reports that Indonesian workers in Java 

have obtained 55 MT green matter per ha in 6–7 months. On a black, poorly structured 

clay, of pH 8.5 in Australia, Agati outgrew all other species tested, attaining 4.3–5.5 

metres in one year's growth 

The crude protein content of both S. sesban and S. grandiflora foliage is generally greater 

than 20% and often above 25%. Dry matter digestibility of Sesbania species is superior to 

that of most other tree and shrub legumes. In northeast Thailand, Akkasaeng et al. (1989) 

found that the in vitro dry matter digestibility of S. sesban and S. sesban var. nubica was 

75 and 66% respectively, all higher than that of 15 other tree legumes that were tested. 

It appears that the most economically efficient and safest use of perennial Sesbania 

forage for ruminants is as a protein supplement to low quality roughages such as crop 

residues or dried grasses. This dilutes the effects of anti-nutritive factors and greatly 

improves the utilisation of the roughages. However it is stressed that the use of these 

perennial Sesbania species should be restricted to ruminants because of the sometimes 

negative effects observed when they are used as feed sources for monogastrics. However, 

even with ruminants, there may be adverse effects on animal productivity and health 

when Sesbania comprises a high proportion of diets for long periods. As a fodder, it 

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should therefore be regarded as an additive rather than a major component of livestock 

feed. 

Soil Improver 

The positive effect that Sesbania species can have on soils has been noted due to it 

nitrogen fixing properties and its ability to grow on a wide range of often difficult sites. It 

has been suggested that these perennial Sesbania species could fix up to 600 kg N/ha/year 

since they tend to form large numbers of active nodules. Field measurements reported a 

total nitrogen yield of 448 kg N/ha from the aerial biomass of S. sesban var. nubica 

In Zambia, ICRAF researchers found that growing Sesbania in depleted agricultural 

fields or on fallow lands for 2 or 3 years and then introducing a hybrid maize crop after 

the fallow period produced exciting and encouraging results. Without N fertilizers, maize 

yields were 2.3 t ha -1 after 1 year of Sesbania fallow; 5.6 t ha -1 , after 2 years; and 6.0 t ha - 

1 , after 3 years. Continuous maize crops gave only 1.5 t ha -1 . 

6. Productivity 

In Kenya, FAO reports a yield of 16 t/ha of sun-dried wood from a 4 year old stand at a 

density of 1,600 plants/ha while much higher yields of 63.5 t/ha were reported for S. 

sesban grown under rainfed conditions in Haryana, India. If planted at spacings close to 

5,000 sph, farmers should expect yields comparable to that for Gliricida i.e. 20 

tonnes/ha/annum 

7. Income Generation 

Some estimates have been made for income generation from the growing of Calliandra 

in Sri Lanka. The species is clearly suitable as a component of a mixed farming 

enterprise, providing fodder for livestock and green manure for food crops. It has a 

particular role in SALT type land management. It is also suited to the small-scale farmer 

as an energy crop if a suitable market or collection point is within an economically 

acceptable transportable distance. Models have been derived for a range of potential farm 

conditions to provide guidance on the sort of returns that might be expected. These are 

appended to this information sheet. The variables that need to be considered by an 

individual farmer or association of growers are the following:- 

1. Area of land that can be dedicated to energy crops. It is suggested that to make it a 

worthwhile exercise around 1 ha should be set aside for this activity. Useful 

supplements to household income can be derived from small areas i.e. the 

collection of small diameter material from hedges, but this would only equate to a 

relative minor part of the total farm income. 

2. Site productivity – a combination of factors related to rainfall, soil fertility and 

depth, altitude etc 

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3. Distance to collection point or market. 

4. Reliability of the market - is the demand still going to be there in 5 years? 

5. Is there sufficient spare labour either within the family or available for hire to 

meet the demands of establishment and harvesting. The table below provides an 

indication of the levels of labour that might be expected for the main tasks. One of 

the advantages of growing energy crops is that there is some slight room for 

modifying the calendar of activities to fit into demands for other crops. 

The above simple table illustrates that on the basis of good-average production of 15 

tonnes/ha/annum and at a current value of $20/tonne a farmer over the first 10 years 

would just about break even if he costs his labour at around $2.35/man day. The table 

below considers the discounted value using a more realistic current value of labour at 

$3.50/day over a production rotation of 20 years. This would provide a positive return at 

a discount rate of 15%. 

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7. References 

J.M. Suttie FAO note on Sesbania sesban (undated) 

J.A. Duke (1983). Sesbania grandiflora. Handbook of Energy Crops (unpublished) 

Topical Forages Factsheet: Sesbania sesban. 

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4. Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr. Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Pers.

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