Arachis species: High-quality forage crops—nutritional properties and breeding strategies to expand their utilization and feeding value

Abstract

Plants of the genus Arachis originated from South America and are cultivated worldwide. The genus Arachis contains 83 species and nine intrageneric taxonomic sections. The cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) belongs to the Arachis section, the forage peanut (Arachis pintoi Krapov. & W. C. Greg.) belongs to the Caulorrhizae section, and the perennial peanut (Arachis glabrata Benth.) belongs to the Rhizomatosae section. These three peanut species have been developed for use as fodder crops. This review summarizes the forage value of Arachis species. Forage and perennial peanuts can be intercropped with forage species to feed livestock. The cultivated peanut vines and peanut by-products, such as peanut skins and peanut meal, are also high-quality fodder used to feed sheep, cattle, and poultry. A major limiting factor in terms of adopting forage and perennial peanuts as forage crops is their limited resistance to frosts, resulting from their low winter hardiness. Therefore, the feeding value of cultivated peanuts is higher compared to forage and perennial peanuts. This review suggests that Arachis is a suitable forage crop, focusing on their nutritional properties and breeding to increase their performance under cultivation and feeding value.