Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Walp is a well-known agroforestry leguminous tree that provides multiple benefits in different agroecological zones. Its apparent versatility is seen in improving animal feed, cleaning environmental wastes, and healing inflammations. It was also found to have significant benefits in agroforestry due to its ability to enhance soil fertility through nitrogen fixation and green manure.
1. Introduction
Legume trees are essential in reforestation programs, soil preservation, and green manure. They were reported to have high growth capacity, providing ecosystem services such as biomass production, recycling of nutrients, nitrogen (N) fixation, and carbon (C) sequestration
[1]. Using leguminous trees in biomass production in alley cropping systems shows excellent potential in enhancing agricultural production and sustainability
[2]. They improve soil fertility, increase crop productivity, and ensure the sustainability of tropical agroecosystems through nitrogen fixation, shade provision, green manuring, and mulch production
[3][4][3,4]. N-fixing leguminous trees and N-mineral fertilizers are used to recover heavily degraded soils
[5]. Legume trees were also used for several other applications, including controlling pests and diseases, as supplements in animal feed, and as sustainable raw materials for electrical energy production
[6][7][8][9][6,7,8,9].
Gliricidia sepium (
Jacq.)
Walp (
G. sepium) is a medium-sized legume tree native to Central America but also grows naturally in Santa Rosa and Veracruz, Mexico.
G. sepium is from the Fabaceae family, the most prominent family in the plant world, and is mainly considered a source of relatively valuable plant protein
[10]. It is sometimes called the “alfalfa of the tropics” because it has better water usage efficiency than alfalfa and may be used as forage by livestock
[11]. It is a well-known multipurpose tree due to its ability to adapt well to various soils, including alkaline, acidic, sandy, heavy clay, and limestone
[12]. However, it thrives best in medium-textured, well-drained, and fertile soils with near-neutral acidity
[13].
Gliricidia was reported as a non-aggressive invader because it is a light-demanding species and unlikely to invade dense plant communities. However, it is often plagued with
Aphis craccivora, which blackens the leaves and makes them fall prematurely
[13]. The use of
Gliricidia in agroforestry is due to its ability to adapt very well to a wide range of soils and a very high level of soil salt stress. The adaptation to soil salinity stress is seen in its ability to produce new leaves about two weeks after losing all leaves due to abrupt salinity stress
[12].
G. sepium is a dominant crop for alley cropping in tropical and subtropical regions
[3]. Its biochar application for the removal of caffeine in water and detoxification of coir pith was also reported
[14][15][14,15], while Grygier et al.
[10] recommended
Gliricidia sepium as an unconventional source of oil, with oil yields similar to that of soybean (
Glycine max). Furthermore, several scholars reported using
Gliricidia leaves (
Figure 1) and trees for anthelmintic purposes. The wound healing effect of
Gliricidia leaves grown in Indonesia, and the Philippines was studied. The scholars found that the leaves contain flavonoids, saponins, and tannins, which act as anti-inflammatory agents, enhancing the healing process
[9].
Figure 1.
Photo of
Gliricidia sepium
leaves.
2. Impact of
Gliricidia sepium
on Crop Performance and Crop Nutritional Properties
tremendously impacted food crops’ yield and nutritional composition, especially maize, as shown in
Summary of the application of
for improving crop quality.
Maize, soybean and groundnut |
Improved yield and nutritional properties |