Hairy Indigo Case Study

A. General Biology Indigofera hirsuta L. or hairy indigo is an annual erect to spreading shrub that is native to Africa and Asia. It is a warm season plant and not frost tolerant. It is a diploid species with 2n= 16. It is naturalized in Florida and many other tropical and subtropical areas worldwide. Hairy indigo is known to have hard seed and should be scarified for uniform germination. Being hard seeded is beneficial for self-reseeding in pastures and cover crops. This persistence in other crops can cause it to be a troubling weed due to its height, canopy and woody stems that can interfere with crop harvesting (Ferrell et al., 2015). Hairy indigo has limit record for agricultural use, but has been used and researched in Florida for use
With proper management hairy indigo can be over seeded into established bahiagrass pastures, improving forage quality. If forage is cut for hay, the grass forage improves the ability of the delicate hairy indigo forage to be handled and baled (Baltensperger et al., 1985). Hairy indigo is recommended as a cover crop in citrus groves. It is preferred to cowpeas and crotalaria, for its ability self-reseed along with good disease, insect and nematode resistance (Norris and Lawrence, 1962). Hairy indigo is currently listed by IFAS as a recommended cover crop with the following agronomic information. Hairy Indigo can produce 15-22 Mg ha-1 forage and 90-170 kg ha-1 nitrogen. It should be planted at 7-11 kg ha-1 in mid-March to June (Wright et al.,
Breeding, Cultivars and Availability A selection from early introductions of hairy indigo into Florida is described as “Late” which was suitable to central and south Florida (Baltensperger et al., 1985). A shorter season variety “Early” was selected which increased its range into north Florida and southern Georgia. Seed that is available now from Hancock Seed Company (www.hancockseed.com) is not designated as any particular cultivar and sells for $189.00 for 50 lbs. During the 1980’s several new cultivars were developed at the University of Florida and released as “FL-24”, “FL-101” and “Flamingo” (Baltensperger, 1989). FL-24 is described as earlier flowering and FL-101 is described as late blooming, and both are considered as RKN resistant. A year later Flamingo was released which is described as a soft seeded cultivar with less than 7% hard seed (Baltensperger et al., 1990). It is further described as having large vigorous seed and growth habit similar to FL-101, but early flowering like FL-24. Flamingo is said to have resistance to RKNs (Meloidogyne javanica, M. incognita and M.