Performance of Annual and Perennial Peanuts Mixed with Pensacola Bahiagrass in North Florida.

Rhizoma peanut (Arachis glabrata Benth.) is one of the few warm-season perennial legumes available for producers in the southeastern USA. The high cost associated with planting and its slow establishment have reduced producer adoption of this legume. Seeded perennial (A. pintoi Krapov. & W.C. Greg.) and annual peanut (A. hypogea L.), with proper management, can be viable alternatives. In this project, four peanut entries were evaluated following planting in ‘Pensacola’ bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flügge) sod. Treatments were: 1) A. glabrata cv. Florigraze; 2) A. glabrata cv. Ecoturf; 3) A. pintoi cv. Amarillo; 4) A. hypogea cv. TUFRunner 727; 5) Pensacola bahiagrass with N fertilizer (60 kg N ha^-1 after each harvest); and 6) Pensacola bahiagrass without N fertilizer. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with four replications. Plots were harvested every 5 wk during May to October 2014, 2015, and 2016. Total dry matter yield was similar among grass-legume mixtures, but greater yields were observed for fertilized bahiagrass. Peanut participation in botanical composition was < 15% with A. pintoi presenting less stand (6 plants m^-1) than other peanuts (13 plants m^-1). Grass in vitro digestibility (IVOMD) was affected by mixture, with bahiagrass IVOMD ranging from 498 to 525 g kg^-1. Arachis pintoi presented lower IVOMD (610 g kg^-1) compared with an average of 700 g kg^-1 for the other peanuts. Bahiagrass fertilized with N had greater herbage N concentration (19 g kg^-1) compared with an average of 15 g kg^-1 for bahiagrass from other treatments. TUFRunner N concentration (31 g kg^-1) was greater compared with an average of 25 g kg^-1 from other peanuts. Inclusion of forage peanut improved herbage nutritive value but did not increase yield. Nitrogen fertilization provided greater biomass yield and improved bahiagrass N concentration over that of grass-peanut mixtures.