Wild peanut for ornamental lawns.
Some species of wild peanut (Arachis spp.), Arachis genus, have been used for ornamental lawns in
Brazil, but all of them derive from a very small number
of accessions. Many new expeditions have been made
to collect the genus, mostly by Embrapa Recursos
Genéticos e Biotecnologia (Cenargen), incorporating a
broad array of accessions unavailable before for research
purposes. The present work was established taking
advantage of the current availability of new accessions
and of several interspecific hybrids produced by
Embrapa Cenargen. Five species were selected for inclusion:
A. glabrata, A. helodes, A. pintoi, A. repens
and A. kempff-mercadoi. Six hybrids were added, whose
progenitors were: A. appressipila, A. paraguariensis,
A. pintoi, A. repens and A. vallsii. The experiment was
conducted in Campinas - São Paulo State - Brazil, at
Instituto Agronômico (IAC). Data recorded cover flowering,
branching speed, foliage density, flower color and
leaf phytosanitary aspect, along two consecutive years,
1998 to 2000. The accessions had two peaks of flowering
during summer. Most of them did not show flowers
during autumn/winter months, from May to September.
The hybrid accessions had good stands only at the
first year, and lost vigor along the second year. Arachis
kempff-mercadoi, A.helodes, A. repens and A.
glabrata look like good accessions for landscaping.