How to Grow Peanuts? 2020 Spring-Sown Peanut Production Technical Guidance

Peanut, also known as the "longevity nut," is distributed across both northern and southern parts of China, and is a nut with abundant yield and wide consumption in our country. Now that spring sowing is underway, how should peanuts be grown? Below, let's look at the 2020 Spring-Sown Peanut Production Technical Guidance issued by the Ministry of Agriculture!

National Agricultural Technology Extension Service Center

Oil Crops Expert Steering Group of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs

At present, spring-sown peanuts in China have fully entered the seed preparation stage, and spring-sown peanuts in the Huang-Huai-Hai region, the Yangtze River basin, and areas to the south have successively begun sowing. Based on local production conditions and market demand, the National Agricultural Technology Extension Service Center, together with the Oil Crops Expert Steering Group of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, has proposed the 2020 Spring-Sown Peanut Production Technical Guidance.

1. Select specialized varieties and prepare sufficient seeds early

Reasonably select high-oil, high-oleic-acid, high-protein, and food-processing-suitable high-quality specialized varieties to meet the differentiated needs of different uses such as oil pressing, fresh consumption, processing, and export. In the Huang-Huai-Hai production area, for fields with medium or higher fertility, open-field peanuts or plastic-film-mulched peanuts should use high-quality specialized medium-to-large-fruit varieties with a growth period of about 125 days; for barren land or continuous cropping land, high-quality specialized medium-to-small-fruit varieties with a growth period of about 125 days should be used. In the Northeast production area, use medium-early-maturing, medium-to-small-fruit varieties with a growth period within 125 days; among these, in areas with high latitude, short frost-free periods, and low accumulated temperature, use early-maturing, small-fruit varieties with a growth period within 115 days. In the Southern production area, use pearl-bean-type varieties with a growth period of about 120 days. In the South Xinjiang region, use medium-to-large-fruit varieties with a growth period of about 125 days, and in the North Xinjiang region, use medium-to-small-fruit varieties with a growth period within 120 days. In areas prone to bacterial wilt and pod rot, choose highly resistant varieties; in production areas with a high degree of mechanized production, choose varieties with good maturity consistency, relatively strong peg toughness, and suitability for mechanized harvesting.

2. Implement key technologies to improve sowing quality

First, build soil moisture and prepare the land. Before sowing, finely prepare the land so that the upper layer is loose and the lower layer is firm, and the ground is level with no clods; at sowing, soil moisture content of 65%—75% is suitable. In drought conditions, build moisture before sowing; when there are no irrigation conditions, sow when there is moisture without waiting for the time, or sow when the time comes without waiting for moisture, with a sowing depth of 3—4 cm. Second, seed treatment. Shell the seeds 10—15 days before sowing; before shelling, sun-dry the seeds in the shell for 2—3 days, remove moldy, damaged, and germinated seeds, and store and sow by seed size grade. For seeds shelled by machine, a germination test must be conducted, and the suitable sowing rate should be determined according to the germination rate. Before sowing, treat the seeds with seed dressing or coating, dry them in a cool, ventilated place, and then sow. Third, sow at the appropriate time. For spring-sown open-field large-seed-type, small-seed-type, and high-oleic-acid varieties, the sowing-period air temperature should be stable above 17°C, 15°C, and 19°C respectively, and plastic-film mulching can advance the sowing period by 7—10 days compared with open field. In the Huang-Huai-Hai production area, the sowing period is generally late April to early May, in the Northeast production area mid-to-late May, and in the Northwest production area early-to-mid May. In the Southern production area, pearl-bean-type peanuts should be sown when the air temperature is stable above 12°C, seizing sunny days at the “end of cold and start of warmth”; high-oleic-acid peanut varieties should be sown appropriately later. Fourth, rational close planting. Generally, for spring-sown large-seed-type varieties, sow 0.8—10,000 hills per mu with two seeds per hill; for small-seed-type varieties, sow 0.9—11,000 hills per mu with two seeds per hill. Fields with better fertilizer and water conditions should be sown sparsely, while dry and thin fields should be planted densely.

3. Strengthen field management to improve population quality

First, scientific fertilization. Peanut fertilization should be mainly base fertilizer, supplemented by topdressing. Acidic soil may appropriately receive additional calcium-containing fertilizers such as lime and calcium magnesium phosphate; continuous cropping soil may appropriately receive additional calcium cyanamide and biological bacterial fertilizer; low-fertility gravelly sandy soil, coarse sandy loam, and first-year cropland should receive additional peanut rhizobium fertilizer. Second, timely watering. For peanuts sown with sufficient soil moisture, watering is generally not needed at the seedling stage; if drought occurs during the flowering-needle stage and pod-setting stage, water promptly and appropriately. During the full-pod stage, if drought occurs, promptly apply small amounts of light irrigation. In the South or areas with more rainfall, peanut fields should keep the “three ditches” unobstructed to prevent waterlogging damage. Third, intertillage and weeding. For open-field peanuts, 1—3 days after sowing, spray the ground with a suitable pre-emergence herbicide for closed weeding; for plastic-film peanuts, when sowing manually and laying film, herbicide can be sprayed after sowing and before mulching, while mechanical sowing and film laying with herbicide spraying can be completed in one operation. When peanuts approach ridge closure, for open-field peanuts, cultivate soil by running a trench between rows, and for plastic-film peanuts, between ridges, so that the ditches are clear, the soil is loose, the ridge sides are full, and the ridge tops are concave, to facilitate peg entry into the soil and pod setting. Fourth, rational growth control. When plants grow to 35—40 cm, use a suitable growth regulator to control fields showing excessive vigor. Fifth, green prevention and control. Use methods such as physical trapping and biological control to control insect pests, and chemical agents to control diseases. Promote physical trapping technologies such as black light lamps, sex pheromone lures, and insect sticky boards. In South China, prevent diseases, insects, and weeds through scientific crop rotation and intercropping.

4. Harvest safely at the appropriate time to ensure a bumper yield and harvest

Peanuts can generally be harvested when most leaves on the middle and lower parts of the main stem have turned yellow and fallen, and 3—4 green leaves remain on the upper part, when the proportion of plump pods reaches more than 70% for large-fruit-type varieties and more than 80% for small-fruit-type varieties. The specific harvest time should also be flexibly determined according to weather and field conditions. After harvest, dry or oven-dry as soon as possible so that the pod moisture content drops below 10%; fresh-eating peanuts should be refrigerated promptly and transported under cold chain. After cleaning and storing in the warehouse, attention should be paid to controlling storage conditions to avoid damage from storage pests and the occurrence of aflatoxin contamination.