ABSTRACT
This chapter provides information on the uses, folk medicine, chemistry, germplasm, distribution, ecology, cultivation, harvesting, yields, energy, and biotic factors of Hog Peanut. Once cultivated in southern United States, hog peanuts have been suggested for planting in poultry forage systems and for intercropping with corn and perhaps ginseng. All members of the genus can be important in soil improvement, as soil cover, and in erosion control. W. G. Dore sterilizes his soil, plants in the fall, and mulches with such things as sawdust, peat moss, vermiculite, and/or organic muck. Gas-sterilization is all but imperative to control weeds since the clambering habit of the vine precludes cultivation. In fertile soils in full sun, the one-seeded beans grow large and succulent, comparable to peanuts, or even lima beans. In loose sandy soil, the seeds separate out easily with a quarter inch screen. Harvested seed tend to germinate in the refrigerator, if not frozen.
