Proper Timing of Peanut Harvest

The proper timing of peanut harvest is one of the most important aspects of peanut production. Improper timing of peanut harvest can cause farmers to lose yield and profits if done either too early or too late. The primary way to determine maturity is through the Peanut Pod Blasting Method developed by UGA scientists. Currently, county agents look at 200 to 800 peanut maturity samples for growers over a 4 to 6 weeks using the Peanut Pod Blasting Method. University researchers are also working on other techniques like the Adjusted Growing Degree Day Model (AGDD) to increase the accuracy of the Peanut Pod Blasting Method. Determining maturity can save producers an average of 300 pounds of peanuts per acre by harvesting on time. With the contract price of peanuts being $400 per ton in 2015, the UGA peanut maturity program allowed growers to increase their gross returns by $60 per acre as a result of accurately determining peanut maturity. Considering more than 75 percent of Georgia's peanut acreage (577,500 acres) is evaluated by UGA Extension agents and Extension faculty, the peanut maturity program has helped growers harvest an extra 173.25 million pounds of peanut at an estimated value of $34,650,000.