Lablab (Rio Verde) is absolutely great for deer. This new lablab retains all of the forage production and nutrition traits as Rongai, but the seed is smaller, time to maturity is less, and is resistant to nematode damage. The smaller seed means less pounds per acre. It is also easier for the weekend wildlife manager to plant. The smaller seeds are just easier to cover by lightly disking or using a heavy drag.
Lablab has long been considered the magic bean of deer management. It's explosive growth and re-growth with heavy browse pressure sets it apart from other peas or beans. Lab lab also carries 25% protein! This variety of lablab is also noted as a great soil builder, fixing up to 200 lbs. of Nitrogen per acre. This will really help out with fertilzer cost for your fall food plots.
Plant lablab (Rio verde) at 10-12 lbs. per acre. Broad cast or drill. Cover seeds approx. 1 inch.
Great Savings! 40% to 50% per acre savings over other seed companies.
Texas A&M University:
Lablab is a vining, herbaceous tropical legume with high nutritive value as a forage or browse for ruminant animals. Lablab has numerous qualities including drought tolerance, high palatability, high nutritive value, excellent forage yields and adaptation to diverse environmental conditions. Rio Verde is a multi-purpose forage legume that can be used in Texas and beyond in livestock production systems and as supplemental browse for white-tailed deer.
Currently, seed of the Australian cultivar 'Rongai' is imported into the US primarily for the supplemental forage planting for white-tailed deer. Rongai was released by the New South Wales Department of Agriculture in 1062. Rongai is very late maturing and generally does not flower in Texas before frost.
Rio Verde Lablab was developed at the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in Overton, TX and was officially released in December 2006. Rio Verde is the first Lablab cultivar developed in the US. Seed of Rio Verde can be produced effectively in Texas locations and perhaps beyond. Rio Verde is a unique variety of lablab that differs in seed size, flowering date, flower color and nematode resistance from all known commercial cultivars. Seed size of Rio Verde is approximately 3400 seed per pound compared to the seed size of Rongai of 1600-2000 seed per pound. Flower color of Rio Verde is lavender compared to the white flower of Rongai. Rio Verde is less susceptible to southern root-knot nematode than the highly susceptible cultivar Rongai.
