Pinto Peanut Growing Information © Frances Michaels

Botanical Name: Arachis pintoi
Common Names: Pinto Peanut syn. Amarillo Forage Peanut
Plant Family: Fabaceae

Plant Description
Pinto Peanut is a low growing, perennial legume that forms a thick mat 20-30 cm deep; the flowers are yellow.
Ecology: It is ideally suited to the high rainfall (over 1000 mm) frost-free areas of the subtropics. This plant has a predominately warm season growth pattern, it is drought hardy, tolerant of shading and has some frost tolerance.
Uses: Pinto's makes an ideal living mulch for orchards in the high rainfall frost-free areas of the subtropics. It tolerates competition from grass and effectively excludes broadleaf weeds, fixes nitrogen and tolerates low mowing. It is best left unmown in late summer to early spring in the first year. This allows sufficient depth of groundcover to prevent weed invasion in the dormant season. It protects the soil surface from erosion and improves soil structure.

Planting Details
Recommended Planting Time: In subtropical areas sow October to January; in the tropics sow during the wet season. Seed germinates in 2 - 3 weeks.
Planting Depth: Sow directly where it is to grow, cover seed well to 2 - 3 cm.
Spacing: 15-20 kg/ha, 9 seeds per m²
Details: Pinto Peanut will also establish readily from cuttings. Cuttings 15 to 20 cm long buried 2 - 3 cm in soil with a few cm protruding will establish quickly in showery weather in late summer. Water inoculum in to ensure effective nodulation.
Inoculant: A group of bacteria called Rhizobium live in a symbiotic relationship with many legumes. This is a big advantage to the plant, as it is able, once inoculated, to produce its own nitrogen, from the soil air. The bacteria are stored in peat, and as this is a living culture, it must be treated with care. It should be stored in the fridge and used within 3 months. Do not separate from the seed packet as the inoculant attached is specific to the individual legume. To use, moisten the seed with a small amount of milk or water and stir in the inoculant until seeds are coated. Do not inoculate the seed until you are ready to sow it and do not leave the inoculated seed in the sun.

Available as seed: Pinto Peanut