Seedling characteristics of cultivars of Leucaena leucocephala

Abstract

Six lines of Leucaena leucocephala including the three Australian cultivars Peru, Cunningham and El Salvador were compared at 42 days of age in two controlled environments. Although differences existed between lines for all characters measured, the only reliable means of distinguishing between the cultivars was the mean number of the first bipinnate leaf to have more than one pair of pinnae. This number tends to be lower in more vigorous, non-branched types than in the bushy Hawaiian strain. It is suggested that cv. El Salvador is not typical of the newer 'Giant Hawaiian' El Salvador types.