Crotalaria Juncea, Indian Hemp - 0.5 kg Seeds

Crotalaria juncea, Sunn Hemp or Indian Hemp (Sann/San), is a fast-growing erect annual legume rather than a tree, with slender stems, simple oblong leaves and showy spikes of bright yellow pea-flowers followed by inflated pods that rattle when ripe.

It is one of India's most important green-manure and soil-improving crops: ploughed in young it fixes nitrogen and adds organic matter, while its stems yield a strong bast fibre used for cordage, ropes, twine and paper, and the plant also serves as fodder and a quick cover crop that smothers weeds and suppresses nematodes. It is grown across the plains of India in the warm season on a wide range of well-drained soils and is notably drought-hardy once established.

• Family: Fabaceae (Faboideae)
• Native region: Indian subcontinent
• Mature height: 1-3 m
• Growth rate: Very fast

The seed germinates readily with little or no treatment. Sow it directly in the field by broadcasting or in rows about 2-3 cm deep into warm, moist, well-drained soil, ideally just before or with the early monsoon; a short water soak can hasten even emergence. Germination takes only about 3-7 days, and as a direct-sown green-manure or fibre crop the seedlings are not transplanted.