Cultivars, improved and selected materials (and area of origin)
‘Tropic Sun’: This has promise as an alternative to winter legume cover crops as an organic matter builder and as a symbiotic nitrogen producing legume. The USDA NRCS and the University of Hawaii Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources cooperatively released the cultivar ‘Tropic Sun’ sunn hemp in 1983. This cultivar is non-toxic to poultry and livestock as shown by laboratory tests and feeding trials. Since sunn hemp is a short-day plant and will not set seed consistently north of 28 N latitude (slightly north of Corpus Christi, TX), it has little potential for becoming a weed in most of the U.S. ‘Tropic Sun’ sunn hemp should receive a minimum of 1 inch of moisture per week for maximum growth, however it is quite drought tolerant.
The supply of sunn hemp seed is limited due to few growers and the need for the plant to be grown in tropical regions to produce seed. Currently, limited supplies of seed can be obtained from the University of Hawaii and www.groworganic.com. If sufficient demand develops, it may be possible to produce seed in areas like south Texas or south Florida. The NRCS does not endorse any certain company over another.
Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone book under ”United States Government.” The Natural Resources Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading “Department of Agriculture.”
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