UTILIZATION OF ARACHIS PINTOI IN RED SOIL REGION AND ITS EFFICIENCY ON WATER-SOIL CONSERVATION IN CHINA

Arachis pinto cv. Amarillo is leguminous forage which was first introduced from Australia into China through an ACIAR Project in 1989. A. pinto is a perennial, crawling herbaceous plant with the characteristics of a shallow root system, long flowering duration, and extensive branching and rooting. With its ability to tolerate acid and barren conditions, and drought tolerance, it has been widely cultivated in the red-soil regions in China, especially as an intercrop in orchard areas. In a continuous four-year in situ assessment, 38 instances of runoff totalling 61t ha -1 were observed in the orchard area intercropped with A. pinto, whereas 178 runoff events, totalling 2482.4 t ha -1 and soil loss of 42.26 t ha -1 in CK orchard. Intercropping A. pinto also improved soil physi-chemical character. After 3years intercropping, orchard soil B.D in 0-20 cm was 0.98 g cm -3 , soil porosity was 25.73%, water content was 22.5%; whereas in CK was 1.06 g cm -3 , 18.6% and 21.5% respectively. Soil pH increased from 5.12 to 6.25, soil O.M. from 1.526% to 1.930%, total N from 0.079% to 0.14%, total P from 0.025% to 0.030. A. pinto contains 15.88% crude protein, 1.36% fate, 29.43% cellulose, rich in nutrition and good palatability. Feeding A. pinto to rabbits produced an average weight increase of 21.67 g d -1 , which was higher than where the animals were feed weeds (10.73 g d -1 ). In the south subtropical area of China, the plants of A. pintoi maintain year-round ever-green and bloom. Owing to its visual appeal, it is gradually becoming an ornamental turfgrass. However, A. pinto yields little seed in China, and its multiplication is mainly through asexual propagation. When spacing distance was 10 ×10 cm 2 , the grass coverage reached 49% on the hill area (barren soil, 0.5% O.M) after planting for 30d, 87% for 45d, 91% for 60d; whereas on garden area (fertile soil, 1.5% O.M), coverage reached 80% for 30d. Further international cooperation is needed to promote the popularization of A. pintoi cultivation in China. Additional Keywords: Amarillo, soil and water conservation