Introduction
The best single measure of success of a plant in a particular environment is
its rate of dry weight increase [Rutter 1955]. However, to determine the rate
of dry weight increase in stands of trees would require periodic destructive
sampling. Since this is not very easy, other measurements such as height
increases and radial growth have been used to estimate dry weight increase.
This has mainly been done with the typical forestry tree species such as the
pines and some woodland species such as the Miombo [Rutter 1955;
Stromgaard 1985].
This study was designed to examine whether the kind of relationships
between dry weight measurements that have been established for the slowgrowing
forestry and woodland trees can be obtained with the fast-growing
multipurpose tree legumes which are rapidly gaining importance in mixed
crop-livestock systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. The relationships established
in this study will subsequently be used to estimate growth and yield performance in subsequent Sesbania screening studies. An established experimental
stand of Sesbania sesban var. nubica (S. sesban) was used after a
year's undisturbed growth. The results are presented in this paper.