Cover Crop Seeds | Mucuna bracteata (MB)

PLANT CHARACTER

Perennial, creeping, aggressive climber. Thick stems and pseudo tap roots extending 2–3m deep. Branches from each node. Adventitious roots do not form easily from nodes touching the ground.

USES
Nitrogen fixation, weed suppression, erosion control, soil moisture and temperature regulation, and soil organic matter improvement. Research conducted by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) confirms that Mucuna bracteata derives 67–84% of its nitrogen directly from the atmosphere, delivering 150–200 kg of fixed nitrogen per hectare per year under Southeast Asian plantation conditions — a proven reduction in synthetic fertiliser dependency.

GROWTH HABIT
Shade tolerant during establishment. Initial growth is slow during the first 8–10 months before becoming highly prolific. Achieves 100% ground cover within 6 months under adequate rainfall — confirmed as the fastest canopy closure of any cover crop tested in Malaysian plantation trials.

WEED CONTROL
The dense legume mat suppresses weed density and dry weight by 94.7–99.9% versus unweeded control plots in oil palm inter-rows, effectively eliminating Imperata cylindrica (lalang/cogon grass) and broadleaf competitors — reducing or eliminating herbicide passes.

PLANTING TYPE & SEEDING RATE
Monoculture: 85–100 g/ha

PLANTING METHOD
Nursery then field transplanting in points (holes)

DRY MATTER PRODUCTION
19 t/ha/year

NO. OF SEEDS/KG
5,900 – 6,000 seeds