Production and Persistence of Wild Annual Peanuts in Bahia and Bermudagrass Sods

Abstract

A wild annual forage peanut was seeded in Pensacola bahiagrass and Coastal bermudagrass sods and found to persist for at least 3 years and showed indications of persisting for a much longer time. The peanut can be established by either preparation of a seed bed and planting or by seeding directly into the undisturbed sod. Preparation of a seed bed before planting improved peanut establishment but reduced total forage yields for at least one season. The total forage yield of the grass and peanut was not higher than that of the grass alone. Adding P and K fertilizers did not increase forage yields of either the peanut or grass over a 3-year period. A 50 lb/acre application of N increased total forage production but reduced the amount of peanut forage produced. In range areas of the Southeast and probably throughout much of Latin America where little N is applied, the forage peanut is one of the first tropical legumes to show promise in grasslegume mixtures.