Forage peanut

Forage peanut
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NOTE: The information in this Agnote must be read in conjunction with Introduction to selecting and using pastures in NSW, which covers information on areas of adaptation, sources of variability, species mixtures, and important issues related to animal health and the conservation of native vegetation.

Pasture type and use	Perennial tropical legume. Grazing, agroforestry and ground cover for horticultural tree crops. Superb forage for horses.
Area of adaptation	Subtropical North Coast.
Min. average annual rainfall	cv. Prine 900 mm cv. Amarillo * 1100 mm * Denotes that this variety is protected by Plant Breeder’s Rights.
Advantages	High quality persistent forage suitable for intensive grazing. Shade-tolerant. Rhizoma peanut highly drought-tolerant. Very effective in using native phosphorus and fertiliser phosphorus.
Disadvantages	Amarillo * peanut seed costs high, combined with high required seeding rate. Prine rhizoma peanut propagated vegetatively. Sprigging and rhizome costs prohibitive for beef production. Can be justified for horse-resting paddocks or dairy-heifer-rearing areas.
Soil requirements	Does best on freely drained sandy to clay loam soils with more than 3% organic matter. Acid soil tolerant.
Varieties	Pinto’s peanut cv. Amarillo * Rhizoma peanut cv. Prine * Denotes that this variety is protected by Plant Breeder’s Rights.
Sowing rates:
- as only species	Amarillo * peanut: 10–12 kg seed-in-pod/ha; 20 kg/ha for horticulture use. Prine peanut: 5.3–7 m³/ha of loosely packed rhizomes.
- in mixtures	Not planted with other legumes.
Sowing time	Spring
Companion species	Compatible with low sward-forming grasses and with tall tufted grasses.
Inoculation	Amarillo peanut is inoculated with a specific Pinto peanut inoculant, usually CIAT 3101. Group P inoculant, used for common peanut Arachis hypogea, is ineffective. Rhizomes of prine rhizoma peanut do not require inoculation.
Major nutrient deficiencies	Phosphorus, potassium. Also responsive to sulfur and molybdenum.
Main insect pests	Slugs. Adult whitefringed weevils eat leaves.
Main diseases	Prine and Amarillo * are resistant to the major peanut diseases. Moderately resistant to root knot nematode.
Management	Amarillo * : During the active growing season, rotationally graze - 1 week grazing, 4 weeks rest. Do not let tall grass dominate. Prine: Ideally, rotationally graze, leaving 15 cm post-graze stubble height when the grazing cycle exceeds 42 days, and 20 cm stubble for a shorter 21-day grazing cycle. Observations indicate that it can tolerate heavy grazing.
Livestock disorders of particular note	No problems reported.
Additional tips	Prine and Amarillo * are not capable of accumulating large amounts of dry matter for haymaking.
Further information	Agnote DPI-174 Forage arachis.

Acknowledgments

Advice on livestock health disorders was provided by Dr Chris Bourke, Principal Research Scientist, NSW Agriculture, Orange. His contribution is gratefully acknowledged.

Photo: Warren McDonald, Former Technical Specialist (Pastures), NSW Agriculture, Tamworth