Peanuts are one of the legumes, which are cultivated for the main purpose of producing oil, food and fodder for livestock. Peanuts are a very popular crop in the world in rotational agriculture. In Tanzania, peanut production is very low due to lack of reliable rains, low level of technology among farmers, pests and diseases, as well as lack of reliable seed.
The peanut plant is one of the short plants that grows 15-60 cm high. Its fruits contain between one and five seeds, while its pods are underground. Its seeds contain a large amount of oil (38% - 50%), protein, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and vitamins. It is believed that nuts also contain some kind of germs that are used as medicine.
Nuts can also be eaten raw, boiled or fried. They can also be made as a snack by mixing with sugar or honey. Nuts are also used in soups, sauces, or as an ingredient in other types of food such as meat and rice. The remains of its plants are very good fodder for animals.
Climate for this cultivation.
Peanuts are grown in a warm place, an average altitude of 1500 meters from sea level. The temperature required every day is about 30 degrees Celsius, and during growth it can decrease to 15 degrees Celsius. Cold conditions delay the flowering of peanuts.
Soil and water level
Since peanut pods are in the soil and must be dug up during harvest, while they are easy to break, it is good to have dry soil, but the plant grows and thrives well in clay soil mixed with sand!
Rainfall
An amount of 500-600 millimeters of water throughout the peanut growing season provides a good opportunity for production. However, peanuts are one of the drought-tolerant crops, and can tolerate a severe lack of water. When this happens, it reduces the yield.
Planting
It is recommended to plant in a place where the soil is deep and whose particles are soft. Be careful and make sure that the nursery area is free of weeds. A nursery with loose and flat soil can cause significant plant loss.
It is recommended to have an amount of 200,000 - 250,000 plants in one hectare, especially for a type that is short-lived. In many countries peanuts are cultivated by planting in lines, most of which have a space of 40 x 20 cm to 30 x 20 cm.
After plowing and leveling well, make ridges 80 cm high, with the top flat so that you can plant two rows of peanuts on each ridge. It is necessary to choose seeds for planting carefully. They must be clean, well packed and without any scratches.
The seeds intended to be planted must be left in their pods and soaked a few days before planting. The planting depth of peanuts is the same as that of corn, where it is between 5-8 cm.
There are two types of groundnuts:
Bunch type
Scattered type
Types cultivated in Tanzania include Johari, Pendo, Nyota, Sawia, Mamboko.
Maintenance
In order to have a high yield, weeds must be completely controlled. Peanuts are very weak in dealing with weeds especially in the initial period of growth. Weeding must be done earlier when the seedlings are emerging from the soil. When the seedlings emerge, weeding should be done by hand to avoid disturbing the young peanuts or damaging the flowers.
Normal weeding can be done up to a period of 6 weeks and manual weeding should be done after that.
The only nutrient required in a peanut farm is calcium. Potassium is absorbed directly by peanut pods if the soil is moist. If there is a lack of calcium, the peanut pods will be empty without any nuts. Plants that require Nitrogen can be obtained by combining other plants such as legumes, instead of applying Nitrogen fertilizers to the soil.
Harvest
Nuts that mature in a short time can be harvested between 85-100 days from planting, and those that take a long time can be harvested in a period of 110-130 days from planting. Remove a few stems to see if the nuts are ripe. Ripe nuts should be brown on the outside, hard and dry.
Ripe nuts inside the shell are usually brown in color, and make a sound when shaken. Diseases that attack peanut leaves can cause peanuts to be harvested before they are fully mature. The nuts must be dug carefully to avoid the nuts cracking and remaining in the ground.
Boil for 2-3 days, then pick them up and boil them again in the chaff for 7-10 days to remove moisture up to ten percent.
Sorting of nuts should be done manually or with a special machine. Crushed, dirty or damaged nuts should be discarded as they will reduce the quality of the nuts and reduce the selling price.
If the nuts are not stored properly, they can retain moisture, which causes a poison known as aflatoxin, which is very dangerous to human health, especially the liver. Nuts that will be used for planting (seed) the following season should not be separated from the pods.
And until then, we have nothing to add, let's meet another day where we will talk about the cultivation of pulses.