Wild peanuts help cover the soil
Keeping grass in the garden to cover the ground is an important solution in sustainable fruit farming. Wild peanuts (Arachis pintoi) are legumes that can live in symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria from nitrogen in the air. They grow biomass (stems, leaves) quickly, retain moisture and enrich the soil with humus.
Wild peanuts originate from South America and were introduced to Vietnam through a number of farming system projects. Wild peanuts exist in nature like hundreds of weed species. Wild peanut stems and leaves can be up to 2 m long and are green all year round, especially when cut periodically. Wild peanut tubers are small and burrow deep into the soil, and are rarely harvested. After introducing them and conducting dozens of experiments on many types of land, from poor, infertile soil, sloping mountainous soil to sandy, salty coastal soil, the Institute of Agricultural and Forestry Science and Technology (NOMAFSI) commented that wild peanuts can withstand poor soil and harsh weather conditions, so they can be grown in many different regions; they can be grown with fruit trees, perennial industrial crops (pineapple, coffee, pepper), and with corn on sloping land.
Wild peanuts cover the nursery ground
In terms of erosion control, the orchard planted with wild peanuts reduced the amount of soil (hills) eroded by 72.4% compared to the control without planting. The soil moisture with wild peanuts was always 10 to 50% higher than the control depending on the thickness of the cover and soil conditions, thus saving irrigation water. Beneficial microorganisms increased significantly under the wild peanut carpet. Specifically, nitrogen-fixing microorganisms increased by 200%, phosphorus-degrading microorganisms increased by 611.1%, and cellulose-degrading microorganisms increased by 138.1% compared to the control (the same type of orchard without wild peanuts). Growing wild peanuts helps the ecosystem of soil insects such as worms and crickets develop, "plowing and processing rotten leaves" day and night, making the soil more porous.
According to NOMAFSI's calculations, growing wild peanuts can provide 595 kg of green matter, 140 kg of P2O5, 200 kg of K2O/ha/year, and this will certainly contribute significantly to improving soil fertility. In the South, growing wild peanuts as a ground cover has been experimentally applied to pepper and mango gardens in Dong Nai, cashew (Binh Phuoc, Kon Tum, Dak Lak), and dragon fruit (Binh Thuan), with initial good results.
Planting wild peanut cuttings using young stems ensures 100% survival and the cheapest price. Cut close to the base when the vine is 30 - 40 - 50 cm long and the leaves begin to turn slightly yellow. From the base up, cut 1 - 2 pieces 18 - 20 cm long, remove the top if it is too short. Cut the cuttings the day before, the next day when the cuttings are dry, plant them. The garden soil for growing wild peanuts needs to be cleared of weeds, use a hoe to dig the entire ground or just dig rows 30 - 40 cm apart depending on the soil quality. Dig holes and place the cuttings like planting sweet potatoes, 2 - 3 cuttings per cluster, 30 - 35 cm apart. Cover the soil and tamp the soil with your feet, if the soil is dry, water the wild peanut cuttings to help them take root quickly. After 25 - 30 days of planting, the peanut plants have grown roots 10 - 15 cm long and sprouted many new shoots. After 3 - 4 months, the wild peanut bushes will spread and the longest vines can be cut and planted.
According to science and technology - LY
