How to Grow Peanuts: The Latest Peanut Planting Techniques and Methods Tutorial

Peanut, originally named groundnut, its seed is also called peanut kernel, and it is beautifully known as the "longevity fruit"; it belongs to the seed part of the six major organs of a plant. The outer skin of the fruit is rough, mostly with a grid-like pattern, and inside the fruit there is a semi-transparent thin skin that belongs to the protective tissue; the color is mainly light red, with a few being dark purple. It belongs to the order Rosales and the family Fabaceae, an annual herbaceous plant, with stems erect or prostrate, 30-80 cm long, the wing petals separate from the keel petals, the pod 2-5 cm long, 1-1.3 cm wide, inflated, with a thick pod wall, and the flowering and fruiting period from June to August. It is mainly distributed in Brazil, China, Egypt and other places. It is a raw material for producing edible vegetable oil, and the peanut kernel can be processed into non-staple foods.

Planting Conditions

1. Peanut has a certain adaptability to slightly acidic soil and is a pioneer crop for developing red soil; however, relatively high soil acidity needs to be neutralized with calcareous fertilizers such as lime. It is a short-day crop, but it is not very sensitive to the photoperiod. It requires relatively high heat and can only be sown when the daily average temperature is stably above 12°C; during the main growth period, a temperature of 20-28°C is required, and when the autumn temperature drops to about 11°C, the pod stops developing. The average accumulated temperature during the growth period in China's peanut production areas is all around 3500°C. The growth period is 100-150 days, and individual late-maturing varieties can reach 180 days. Generally, early-maturing varieties have a short seed dormancy period, late-maturing varieties have a long dormancy period, and the dragon-type varieties have the strongest dormancy. In addition to being affected by the seed coat, the dormancy of peanut seeds is also related to certain hormone-like substances in the embryo. Dormancy can be broken by using chemical substances such as ethephon and kinetin, sun-drying the seeds, and germinating at a suitable temperature.

2. The peanut rhizobia in the soil are attracted by root exudates, enter the cortical cells through the epidermal cells and divide and reproduce, causing the cells to be stimulated and form root nodules. This period is a parasitic relationship, and only later, when the nitrogen-fixing activity of the rhizobia strengthens, does it become symbiotic. At the end of the peanut growth period, because the root system breaks and the root nodules rupture, the rhizobia return to the soil and live saprophytically. The suitable temperature for rhizobia reproduction is 18-30°C, the moisture is about 60% of the maximum water-holding capacity of the soil, and the pH is 5.5-7.2. When there is too much nitrate nitrogen in the soil, it inhibits rhizobial nitrogen fixation, so nitrogen application should be appropriately controlled in the early growth stage. Increasing the application of phosphorus, potassium and calcium fertilizers can promote rhizobial reproduction and improve nitrogen-fixing ability.

Peanut Sowing

1. Sowing period. When the soil temperature in the 5 cm layer is stably 12°C in spring, pearl bean-type peanuts can be sown. From late April to early May, plastic film mulching cultivation can be about 7-10 days earlier.

2. Sowing density and method. Ridge planting: ridge spacing 50 cm, hole spacing 13-17 cm, that is 120,000-150,000 holes/hectare, with two seeds sown per hole. Plastic film mulched bed planting: two rows per bed, small row spacing 40 cm, hole spacing 13-17 cm, two seeds per hole, that is 120,000-150,000 holes/hectare.

Field Management

1. Ridge cultivation

① Clearing seedlings to promote root growth: carry out when the seedlings have basically emerged completely. First pull out the weeds around the seedlings, then scrape away the soil to expose the cotyledons above the ground. Be careful not to damage the roots. About half a month after clearing the seedlings, fill the soil back to bury the holes.

② Intertillage and weeding: carry out intertillage and weeding 3 times at the seedling stage, the rosette stage and the flowering stage. Grasp the principle of "shallow, deep, shallow", and be careful to prevent soil from being hilled up during intertillage at the seedling stage and pressing the seedlings; during intertillage at the flowering stage, prevent damaging the pegs.

③ Hilling: carry out hilling half a month after flowering, and it should not be too thick; 3 cm is appropriate.

2. Film mulching cultivation

During the period from mulching to emergence, if a break in the film is found or the coverage is not tight, promptly use soil to press and bury it again and seal it tightly. When the seedlings break through the film and push up the soil, and begin to reveal true leaves, scrape away the soil on the film so that the cotyledons are exposed on the ground surface. If missing holes are found, immediately replant with seeds that have been sprouted. Before flowering, carry out 1 intertillage and weeding in the furrow. During the period from flowering and pegging to pod filling, according to the growth vigor of the peanut, spray 500 times Xianke topdressing essence on the leaves to replace root topdressing, or spray 500 times a 0.2%-0.3% potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution 2-3 times, or spray peanut dwarfing multi-harvest or Diguo Zhuangtiling to increase the amount of nutrient transport, promote fruit development, and increase peanut yield. During this period, if drought occurs, irrigate in time.

3. Continuous cropping method

① Land preparation: land preparation must be meticulous, and autumn land preparation is required, with deep plowing to 30 cm, and repeated fine harrowing to ensure that the soil is loose on top and firm below, with good permeability; ridges should be made in autumn and compacted. Through the low-temperature effect in winter, kill the fungi in the soil that cause peanut stem rot and root rot, and reduce the occurrence of diseases and insect pests.

② Fertilization: when cultivating peanuts in continuous cropping, organic fertilizer must be increased, and 4000-5000 kg of high-quality farmyard manure per mu should be applied in combination with autumn plowing. At sowing, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers should be the main ones, with 15 kg of diammonium phosphate and 8 kg of potassium sulfate applied per mu. In early to mid-August, spray 2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate on the leaves twice, and at the same time use a special peanut microbial preparation containing nitrogen-fixing bacteria, phosphate-solubilizing bacteria, potassium-solubilizing bacteria and other bacteria as well as an appropriate amount of medium and trace elements; the disease control effect is remarkable.

③ Variety: strengthen quarantine, and strictly prohibit introducing seeds from diseased areas. Select disease-resistant and high-yield varieties and replace varieties in time. Before shelling peanuts, choose sunny weather to sun-dry the seeds for 2-3 days. In combination with shelling, select first-grade seeds that are large and plump, bright in skin color, high in full-fruit rate, good in uniformity, clear in net pattern, moderate in size, attractive in appearance, and high in germination vigor and germination rate.

④ Management: after emergence, if there is missing seedlings or broken rows, sprout the seeds and replant. After the seedlings are complete, clear the seedlings to promote root growth, using the hands to scrape away the floating soil at the root zone of the seedlings so that the two cotyledons are exposed. About 15 days after clearing the seedlings, return soil to fill the holes. Carry out intertillage and weeding three times at the seedling stage, the rosette stage and the flowering stage. The first intertillage should be shallow to prevent too much soil from burying the stems and affecting the development of side branches; as long as the surface soil is loosened and the weeds are completely removed, it is fine; the second intertillage is at the root nodule formation stage, and this intertillage can be slightly deeper, generally about 6 cm; the third intertillage is at the flowering stage, and this intertillage must be especially careful to avoid damaging the pegs, with an intertillage depth of about 5 cm. That is, grasp the principle of "shallow, deep, shallow"; 15 days after flowering, hilling with 3 cm is appropriate, and it should not be too thick. Strengthen the prevention and control of diseases and insect pests, and control diseases as early as they are found.

4. Land preparation and fertilization

① Land preparation: after the previous crop is harvested in autumn, stubble is removed, and after autumn plowing, harrowing and compacting, new ridges are made. For plots prepared for plastic film mulching cultivation, make beds with a bottom width of 75-80 cm, a bed height of 5 cm, and a bed surface width of 65-70 cm; between the beds, make small ridges 20-25 cm wide and 15 cm high, for use in taking soil at sowing.

② Fertilization: along with autumn land preparation and ridge making, apply decomposed barnyard manure, kang hole soil, composted green manure, etc. Apply 15,000-30,000 kg/hectare, with ditching and sparse application for ridge planting, and broadcasting for bed planting. Ridge cultivation can also apply farmyard manure sparsely before sowing in the sowing year. At sowing, apply 150-225 kg/hectare of diammonium phosphate and 75-120 kg/hectare of potassium sulfate as seed fertilizer. For acidic soil, apply lime along with base fertilizer. If the pH value (acidity and alkalinity) is 6.0-6.5, apply 450 kg/hectare of lime; if the pH value is 5.5-6.0, apply 675 kg/hectare of lime.