Outdoor Logic with Biologic: Four Bean Deer Salad - Annual Legumes

BY TODD AMENRUD

There are numerous plants classified as legumes (Fabaceae family) and they can be annuals, perennials or biennials. All types can be used in agriculture and wildlife management, but the annuals can be especially productive for whitetails when managed properly. Many annual legumes grow a fruit that develops from a simple carpel that forms a pod and these pods produce foods like beans, peas, lentils and peanuts. Some legumes are also grown for livestock feed because of their prolific production of high-protein, very digestible forage. Another huge bonus of legumes is their capability to fix nitrogen to the soil through bacteria contained in little configurations called “root nodules,” so they also make great soil-builders for rotation, a cover crop or soil-enhancing “green manure.” As gamekeepers, we can take advantage of all of these above.

Legumes include perennials like alfalfa, clover, trefoil and vetch; and annuals like peas, beans, lentils and peanuts. There are also legume trees like the locust tree or the Kentucky coffee-tree. Perennials are important because they are up in the spring before any annuals have begun to germinate, but for your herd to really “put on the feed bag” nothing can compare to the tonnage produced by annuals. Soybeans, iron & clay peas, lablab and winter peas make up the better share of annual legumes most often planted for whitetails. Understanding these legumes and how to best utilize them can help you to attract and hold more deer, grow bigger antlers and take your management efforts to the next level.

SOYBEANS

Soybeans are the warm-season annual legume most planted for both agriculture and wildlife management – they may also be the most favored by whitetails. Soybeans come in too many varieties to list with a wide array of characteristics to help managers achieve almost any goal a bean could possibly assist with. Some are great forage producers; some produce a great bean yield while other varieties give you a combination. They are very nutritious, palatable and digestible, containing between 20 and 30% crude protein, depending upon the part of the plant considered and the stage of growth.

As mentioned, soybeans can be categorized as either grain creators or forage producers. Soybeans sold for grain production are characteristically shorter and stand more erect. Their goal is to grow up and produce the best bean possible in the selected maturation period. Forage soybeans, on the other hand, usually grow taller (some seven to eight feet tall or more) and tend to vine-out and grow bushier which helps to increase leaf forage production and protect the terminal bud. So if you wish to grow an actual bean for late-season attraction or wintertime protein, a grain soybean would be your best choice. However, if you want to produce tons of green leaf matter for antler growth, fawn rearing and summertime nutrition, then forage soybeans should be planted.

Soybeans are easy to plant and easy to establish in a wide range of soil types. They can be planted by drill or broadcast and covered, and like other legumes they prefer a neutral pH. One must also mention the fact that many soybeans come in Roundup Ready varieties. This makes them easy to plant and grow weed-free. The downfall is expense. On average, it’s about twice as expensive to plant a glyphosate-resistant bean as opposed to a regular soybean. Note that even with a regular bean, you can still prevent grass competition with an application of one of the many clethodim-based or sethoxydim-based selective herbicides on the market.

Despite the overwhelming number of soybean varieties, deer really aren’t particular when it comes to eating them. I’ve never seen a variety that deer won’t consume; however, a specific type (or group) of soybeans may help fulfill your specific objectives. For example, if you live in the South with a long growing season where late summer is typically the most stressful time period for deer, a later-maturing forage soybean will ensure ample forage is available during the critical August and September months when natural food sources are low. Conversely, if you live in the North with a short growing season and you are more concerned about having an abundance of standing beans (grain) to hunt over, then an earlier-maturing, bean-producing variety may be better suited.

When planting annual legumes, a manager should use utilization cages to keep close tabs on the amount of pressure the plot is receiving. (Photo Credit: Jesse Raley)

LABLAB

It is said that lablab was originally brought into the United States from Australia. Wherever it came from, there’s no doubt it was made famous for whitetail management in Texas. There, researchers showed that lablab improved antler size, body weight and herd density, but it was proven to do all of this under some of the harshest growing conditions in the country … as I said, it’s Texas. A downfall is just like other annual legumes that are susceptible to browse pressure, lablab seems to be doubly so. Lablab is not the best choice for small, unprotected mono-plots – it should be planted in large plots or protected with fencing and/or repellents.

Because lablab is a legume, it can be successfully grown anywhere that soybeans and peas will grow. It is very drought tolerant once established, but does not grow well in wet soils. It should be planted during the spring when soybeans are being planted in your area or once the soil temperature reaches 65 F or higher.

Whitetails are strongly attracted to lablab’s large, succulent leaves and you should expect utilization shortly after germination. It should produce about four tons of forage per acre at about 25% protein and is very digestible. It has a calcium to phosphorus ratio of two to one making it an especially good choice for antler growth. It is very tolerant of browsing once established, but it is vulnerable to browse pressure for the first 30 days of growth. As mentioned, in small plots, it’s wise to protect it with P2 Plot Protector for the first month if you anticipate browsing pressure.

As said, lablab is extremely drought tolerant and likes the heat, but will be finished at the first hint of a frost. Once it makes it to the point of starting to vine (about three to four weeks after germinating), it becomes very vigorous. It’s resistant to insects and disease, grows well even in rough or acidic soil and produces an incredible amount of forage.

The one downfall of all of the annual legumes discussed is they can be vulnerable to early browse pressure. You must protect small plots or reach what the author refers to as “terminal yield” to keep up with the amount of mouths you have to feed. (Photo Credit: Todd Amenrud)

IRON & CLAY PEAS

Iron & clay peas are another warm-season annual that can be grown throughout the United States and planted from May through August. They are often called cowpeas or black-eyed peas, but this legume is actually a bean that produces highly digestible, large, triangular leaves that are very attractive to deer. And just like all our legumes on the list, you’ll have to keep the deer from engulfing them before they start to vine and are able to put on substantial growth.

Cowpeas can be planted throughout most of the country from May to August. Later plantings can provide succulent growth to attract deer for an early bow shot. Cowpeas do well in a wide range of soil types, but do best when planted in well-drained soils. They will also tolerate more acidic soils than most other legumes (pH as low as 5.0) and are a bit more tolerant of cold temperatures than lablab and many varieties of soybeans.

The forage is relished by whitetails, but iron & clay peas are also great food for upland birds and turkeys. Turkeys will eat the newly emerged seedlings, but when the seedpods dry and shatter they become food for upland birds, turkeys and other animals. Whitetails primarily feed on the leaves during the summer, but they especially favor the young, tenderer plants.

Iron & clay peas are planted more often in southern states for a summertime food plot crop than in northern latitudes. Seed (bean) pod production is highly dependent upon temperatures and the amount of sunlight, and when planted in the North they will often not produce any seed pods. Luckily whitetails go nuts for the forage, not necessarily the fruit.

Iron & clay peas are an excellent choice to mix with other plants to create a smorgasbord for your herd. They pair well with corn, sorghum, sunflowers, cereal grains and other cultivars, but do especially well with the other legumes on our list. BioLogic’s “BioMass All Legume” features soybeans, iron & clay peas and lablab blended together in a versatile, vigorous spring/summer planting. The combination of these warm-season legumes gives you attraction power, the ability to do well in almost any growing condition, teeming tonnage and the capability to treat the blend with a selective grass herbicide (clethodim or sethoxydim) for a clean, legume-only stand.

WINTER PEAS

As opposed to the warm-season legumes already covered, an Austrian winter pea is a cool-season annual legume that can produce a great food plot on their own or as an addition to a blend of other plants, primarily used to attract whitetails for hunting opportunities. This is the “go-to” legume for fast attraction for a late-summer/fall planted hunting plot. Once again, however, “terminal yield” must be achieved or a few deer can wipe out a small plot before the hunting season ever begins.

Winter peas are easy to grow, quick to germinate and are extremely palatable right away after they pop out of the ground. They are closely related to the peas we grow in our gardens and have the same nitrogen-fixing abilities as all of our featured legumes. They are highly nutritious, extremely digestible, and carry a protein level between 20 and 30%. They don’t do well during a drought, but they do have good winter hardiness, especially when compared to the other legumes on our list. They form vinelike growth and can reach lengths of five feet or more in good growing conditions.

While Austrian winter peas can be planted in a mono stand, unless the plot is large enough to survive heavy browsing, it will be better able to withstand pressure when planted in a blend with other annuals like cereal grains and brassicas. Austrian winter peas are like candy to whitetails.

Annual legumes, both warm-season and cool-season, should be on a manager’s menu if they have sufficient acreage to devote or a way to protect them. “Terminal yield” must be realized. They must be protected or enough must be planted to overwhelm the amount of existing pressure. Once past that point, all these annuals can pump out tons of attractive, protein-rich forage.

While the warm-season legumes can make a very attractive early-season bow plot, they are primarily used for summertime nutrition. Soybeans that have dried on the stalk can also be late-season attraction and wintertime nutrition, but, for the most part, it’s the green leaf forage that managers take advantage of during summer months. On the other hand, winter peas are most often planted for hunting season attraction. The tender, tempting leaves are too much for a whitetail to resist. All of these legumes, although planted and utilized at different times, are like the perfect four bean salad for your herd.

Winter peas are like candy to a whitetail. Here you see their purple blooms which resemble sweet peas. (Photo Credit: Brenda Valentine)