Calopo, Wild ground nut
Calopogonium mucunoides

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

Calopogonium mucunoides is a CLIMBER growing to 5 m (16ft) by 0.3 m (1ft in) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. The flowers are pollinated by Insects. It can fix Nitrogen. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 5

Where it is found

Not known

Tropical America and the West Indies.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Asia, Australia, Burkina Faso, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Central America, China, East Africa, Guiana, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mozambique, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Sierra Leone, South America, Suriname, Taiwan, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Africa.

How it is used

Food

Rating: 0

Medicine

Rating: 0

Other

Rating: 3

Agroforestry Uses: A valuable pioneer legume, planted as a green manure to protect the soil surface, reduce soil temperature, fix atmospheric nitrogen, improve soil fertility and control the growth of weeds. It is an important cover crop for plantation crops, especially rubber and oil palm, where it is often grown in a mixture with centro (Centrosema pubescens) and tropical kudzu (Pueraria phaseoloides). Calopo grows vigorously, shedding a large amount of leaf litter onto the soil which smothers most weeds. The effect of calopo and associated legumes in improving soil fertility may last for 14 - 16 years. In an experiment in Malang, Indonesia, a green manure crop of calopo grown for 3 months contained about 65 kg/ha nitrogen in its leaves, shoots and roots. Calopo is a pioneer species: it provides soil protection against erosion, reduces soil temperature, improves soil fertility and controls weeds (Cook et al., 2005; Chin Chen Peng et al., 1997). Although not widely used, calopo is the most popular legume amongst Brazilian farmers and is the legume seed produced in greatest volume in Brazil (Pizarro, 2001). Other Uses: None known

Fodder: Food given to the animals (including plants cut and carried to them) rather than forage for themselves.

Green manure: Fast-growing plants that can be used to increase the fertility of the soil.

Mulch: Used for covering the ground to conserve the nutrients in the soil.

Pioneer: Plants, usually trees and shrubs, that can be used to reforest land.

Soil conditioner: Plants grown to improve the structure of the soil. See also Green manures.

Soil stabilization: Plants that can be grown in places such as sand dunes in order to prevent erosion by wind, water or other agents.

Agroforestry Services: Nitrogen: Plants that contribute to nitrogen fixation include the legume family – Fabaceae.

Agroforestry Services: Understory legume: Legume vegetation, especially the trees and shrubs growing between the forest canopy and the forest floor.

Fodder: Bank: Fodder banks are plantings of high-quality fodder species. Their goal is to maintain healthy productive animals. They can be utilized all year, but are designed to bridge the forage scarcity of annual dry seasons. Fodder bank plants are usually trees or shrubs, and often legumes. The relatively deep roots of these woody perennials allow them to reach soil nutrients and moisture not available to grasses and herbaceous plants.

Management: Fodder: Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Minor Global Crop: These crops are already grown or traded around the world, but on a smaller scale than the global perennial staple and industrial crops, The annual value of a minor global crop is under $1 billion US. Examples include shea, carob, Brazil nuts and fibers such as ramie and sisal.

Agroforestry Services: Nitrogen: Plants that contribute to nitrogen fixation include the legume family – Fabaceae.

Agroforestry Services: Understory legume: Legume vegetation, especially the trees and shrubs growing between the forest canopy and the forest floor.

Fodder: Bank: Fodder banks are plantings of high-quality fodder species. Their goal is to maintain healthy productive animals. They can be utilized all year, but are designed to bridge the forage scarcity of annual dry seasons. Fodder bank plants are usually trees or shrubs, and often legumes. The relatively deep roots of these woody perennials allow them to reach soil nutrients and moisture not available to grasses and herbaceous plants.

Management: Fodder: Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Minor Global Crop: These crops are already grown or traded around the world, but on a smaller scale than the global perennial staple and industrial crops, The annual value of a minor global crop is under $1 billion US. Examples include shea, carob, Brazil nuts and fibers such as ramie and sisal.

Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.

Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.

Nitrogen Fixer: Plants that fix nitrogen in the soil

How it is grown

Calopo is a plant of the hot humid tropics, where it succeeds at elevations from sea level to 2,000 metres, though it is best adapted to elevations of 300 - 1,500 metres. It grows best in areas where the annual rainfall exceeds 1,250 mm. Plants are not tolerant of frost. Vigorous growth occurs on soils of all textures. Succeeds in very acid soils with a pH as low as 4.5 - 5. Requires a sunny position - growth declines markedly if the plant is shaded. Plants are moderately drought-tolerant but may die out if the dry season is prolonged Calopo grows rapidly and is able to cover the soil in 3 - 6 months after sowing and even sooner on newly cleared, fertile land. It forms a dense entangled sward in 4 - 5 months after sowing, but the plants are short-lived and may only persist for 1 - 2 years. When grown as a cover crop in plantation crops in a mixture with tropical kudzu and centro, calopo is the first to become established but also the first to be shaded out. Long-term persistence is through recruitment of new plants from seedlings. The root system is dense and rather shallow, its deepest roots reaching a depth of about 50 cm. Flowering in calopo is initiated by short days. It is self-pollinated and seeds freely. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby.

Propagating it: Seed - Calopo is usually propagated by seed, sown at 1-3 kg/ha. Seed is normally drilled in rows when sown into new plantations or broadcast in stands to be used for forage production. After seed is broadcast, the seed-bed may be rolled to improve establishment. Newly harvested seed usually has more than 75% hard seed. Mechanical scarification, soaking in concentrated sulphuric acid for 30 minutes, or soaking in hot water (75C) for 3 minutes is recommended to enhance germination. Although calopo stems root at the nodes when in contact with moist soil the establishment of stem cuttings inserted directly into soil is generally poor. Use of pre and post-emergence herbicides or hand weeding promotes the establishment of calopo. As calopo nodulates promiscuously with native rhizobia, seeds are usually not inoculated. If inoculum is applied, then cowpea strains such as the Australian CB 756 are used. When planted as a cover crop in plantations it is usually sown in a mixture with other legumes such as Calopogonium caeruleum, Centrosema pubescens and Pueraria phaseoloides with 1-3 kg/ha of calopo in a total mixture of 10- 15 kg/ha of legume seed. When sown for forage production, calopo has been successfully used in mixtures with stoloniferous grasses, such as molasses grass (Melinis minutiflora Beauv.) and Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana Kunth), and with tussock grasses such as setaria (Setaria sphacelata (Schumacher) Stapf & Hubbard ex M.B. Moss). Good results have been obtained from oversowing it into existing stands of pangola grass (Digitaria eriantha Steud.) which have been harrowed

Best place to grow:

Habit: Climber

Hardiness: 10-12

Growth: Fast

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

Due to its agressive development and allelopathy towards the seeds of other species, Calopogonium mucunoides can become a localized weed in humid-tropical environments. It is considered a weed in tropical ecosystems in northern Australia (Northern Territory and Queensland), in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia and in many Pacific Islands (Samoa, Mariana Islands, Cook Islands, French Polynesia)

Its other names

Local names

Calopo, wild ground nut; santing, karaparapak, thua karopo, bejuco culebra, calopogônio, calopogonio indico, falso oró, rabo de iguana, jequirana, cama; marmelada de boi, mielillo, orelha de onça; kacang asu, Lamdau long

Synonyms

Calopogonium brachycarpum Hemsl. Calopogonium orthocarpum Urb.Glycine javanica "sensu Backer, non L." Stenolobium brachycarpum Benth.