Perennial Peanut: Establishment and Adaptation on an Oxisol in Puerto Rico

Perennial peanut species Araclzis glabrata (rhiromatous) and A. pinloi (stoloniferous) are attributed with high nutritional quality, palatability, persistence and competitiveness with grasses although little is known of their agronomic value outside of Florida and areas of South America. The main liability of Arachis is its slow rate of establishment, often more than one year. In Puerto Rico, studies were conducted on an Oxisol during a nine-month period to determine if rhizome crowns with attached plant foliage could successfully be established and to compare them with seedlings of stoloniferous accessions in their rate of plant spread and yield. In two separate studies, evaluations were made of nine selected entries and cv. Arbrook of A. glabrota and related species from Florida and six A. pintoi accessions from CIAT. Four of the rhizomatous entries established successfully. Three had relatively slow growth in the first 12-16 weeks, with an average of 35 % plot cover and high incidence of weeds. UF 99, however, had 75% soil coverage at 16 weeks and allowed little weed development. The commercial cv. Arbrook failed to establish. Three stoloniferous accessions, CIAT 18744, 18747, and 18748, exhibited a high rate of plant spread at 16 weeks (over 90% soil coverage) with little weed growth. At nine months, UF 99 had fully established (100% plot cover), and entries UF 3, UF 77 and UF 64 had a range of75-90 % coverage, with an average canopy height of 30 cm. No major insect damage or disease was observed on the plant material during the experimc:nt. The highest dry matter yield (DM:Y) was obtained from UF 99, which had an average yield of 5,568 kg/ha at nine months. DMY of the three other entries averaged only 2,360 kg/ha. For the CIAT accessions, DMY averaged 4,726 kg/ha. Based on these preliminary studies, UF 99 and CIAT 18744, 18747, 18748 exhibit potential for faster rate of establishment and adaptation.