How many peanut plants per mu should be planted to achieve high yield?

Peanut reasonable close planting should be mastered so that the plants close the rows during the podding stage. The general requirement for the growth appearance of reasonably close-planted peanuts is “on fertile land they do not lodge, on thin land they can close the rows”. Under general production conditions, for varieties with a long growth period, tall plants, strong branching, and a trailing growth habit, as well as under conditions of high temperature and abundant rain, fertile soil, and a high level of management, planting should be appropriately sparse; otherwise, it should be denser.

Peanut yield is determined by the number of hills per mu, the number of pods per hill, and the average pod weight. The effective podding radius of peanuts is about 15 cm for trailing varieties and mostly about 10 cm for upright varieties. When planted sparsely, although the number of pods per plant is greater, the rate of shriveled pods is high and the yield is not high either, Fuda Peanut Network - Peanut High-Yield Creation Center. If the density is too great, then the number of pods per hill decreases, and the risk of an increased proportion of overripe pods rises, making both yield and quality unsatisfactory.

Research and experiments show that, affected by the variety's fruiting range, soil fertility, sowing date, and so on, in the northern peanut region, the suitable density for spring sowing of the common upright large-pod peanut is 7000-9000 hills per mu (666.7 sq m); for common bunch and trailing varieties, 6000-7000 hills per mu; for Spanish-type small and medium-seed varieties, 10,000-12,000 hills per mu on dry and thin land in spring sowing, and 7000 to 10,000 hills per mu on fields with medium or higher fertility, Fuda Peanut Network - Peanut High-Yield Creation Center. In the Yangtze River basin spring-summer peanut rotation area, common upright type is 9000 to 10,000 hills per mu; common trailing and dragon-type varieties are 6000-7000 hills per mu; Spanish-type varieties are 10,000 to 12,000 hills per mu. In the southern spring-autumn double-cropping area, for Spanish-type peanuts sown in spring in paddy fields, 9000 to 11,000 hills per mu; for direct sowing on dry slopes, 10,000 to 12,000 hills per mu.

For large peanuts, the average row spacing is suitably 40-50 cm, with hill spacing of 15-22 cm; for small peanuts, a row spacing of 33-39 cm and hill spacing of 15-18 cm is suitable. Usually, for upright large peanuts, the row spacing is 42-46 cm and hill spacing is 15-18 cm, Fuda Peanut Network - Peanut High-Yield Creation Center. However, wheat-intercropped or summer-sown peanuts have a short growth period and shorter plants, so the soil fertility and light energy should be fully utilized, the group's yield-increasing potential should be fully brought into play, and the density should be appropriately increased, generally by about 20% compared with spring sowing.