Groundnuts Production

Choose a place where the top soil have a low clqy content with loose structure, so that it will be easy for roots to penetrate the soil

Best soil is sandy loam soil which is rich in organic matter.

Germination temprature of the environment should be between 20 to 30°c

Water temprature should not be low cause it reduces germination

So you are advised to plant your seeds in warm soil so as to enhance fast germination and health seedlings

The soil ph should be between 5.5 to 7.0

Being a leguminous crop, groundnuts can fix nitrogen with the aid of root hectare so it does not depend on nitrogen fertilization.

Land Preparation

Plough early to ensure all crop residues are completely burried.

In this stage cleae field by ploughing and harrowing to bring soil to fine tilt for proper germination and growrh of crops

Its good to plough in summer to destroy weeds seeds that hibernate insects and diseases organisms by exposing them to heat summer

Where plant residues are present , pod root disease increases which reduces groundnut yield and quality .

To ensure good yield, deep ploughing should be done.

Planting the seeds

The soil should be warmth at the time of planting

Plant seeds late in the morning when the soil is warm up for better germination

If you are using irrigation farming system, the best thing to do is to moisten the soil before planting the seed cause it increases the growth rate of groundnuts crop.

Spacing

Space depend on the variety of groundnuts

If you plant variety with small seeds, spacing should be interow spacing 50cm and inrow 30cm

Spacing for large seeds should be 75 cm interow and 45 inrow

Remember good spacing enhance good yield.

Planting depth
It should be 5 to 7.5cm, so as to makesure the plant develops and produces optimally.

Weed control
You can control weeds either by chemical or mechanical methods

On chemical you can you pre emergence herbicides and post emergence herbicides

Remember weeds compete for moisture , nutrient, light and space so its good to remove them to obtain good yield.

Harvesting

It takes 3 months for groundnuts to mature

Harvesting comprising of digging , lifting, windrowing, stocking and threshing

Sign to show that the groundnuts is ready for harvesting

When start seeing yellow sports across the plant

Check the pods of plant by harvesting samples of plant and cut some groundnuts pods from the root. Break the pods and the nut should nearly fill the pods

Makesure that you harvest groundnuts before it passes the stage of full maturity so to avoid lossing a lot of pods

To harvest pull out the plant then shake the soil from the pods and leaving the pods attached.

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