Calopogonium mucunoides

Cultivation Details

Calopogonium mucunoides 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^[1]. It grows best in areas where the annual rainfall exceeds 1,250 mm and daily temperatures range from 24 - 32°c, tolerating 18 - 36°c^{[1, 2]}. Plants are not tolerant of frost^[1]. Vigorous growth occurs on soils of all textures, though it prefers a clay soil^{[1, 2]}. Succeeds in very acid soils, preferring a pH in the range 4.5 - 5^{[1, 2]}. Requires a sunny position - growth declines markedly if the plant is shaded^[1]. Plants are tolerant of seasonal inundation of the soil and are also moderately drought-tolerant, but they may die out if the dry season is prolonged^{[1, 2]}. The plant can become a localised weed in humid-tropical environments. It has invaded tropical ecosystems in northern Australia and is listed as a weed in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia^[2]. 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^[1]. 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^[1]. Flowering in calopo is initiated by short days. It is self-pollinated and seeds freely^[1]. 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^[3].