Proper Timing of Peanut Harvest

Summary

Determination of peanut maturity has been a one of the most economical and effective programs established between university faculty (both research and extension), county agents and growers in the peanut industry in Georgia. Considering more than 75% of Georgia's peanut acreage (577,500 acres) is evaluated by county agents and extension faculty, the University of Georgia's peanut maturity program has helped growers harvest an extra 173,250,000 pounds of peanut at an estimated value of $34,650,000 (86,625 tons @ $400 per ton).

Situation

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. During the 2015 season, determining the correct digging date was extremely important due to the dramatic increase in peanut acreage (770,000 acres planted in 2015, 33% increase from 2014) and the erratic growing season. Currently, the best solution to properly time peanut digging is proper monitoring of crop maturity.

Response

Research trials on maturity as it related to planting date and harvest date are compiled over a multi-year period to provide growers with a maturity range. An exact date of maturity is not provided due to the impacts of the environmental conditions from year to year. With the current knowledgebase of maturity ranges of available peanut varieties derived from previous research, extension faculty provide several peanut maturity workshops for county agents, who in turn educate and assist growers through many weeks of maturity clinics held within each county. The primary way to determine maturity is through the Peanut Pod Blasting Method developed E. J. Williams at the University of Georgia. 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. The AGDD is being evaluated and validated by extension faculty, county agents, and growers to see if the model can increase response time and accuracy of the currently used Peanut Pod Blasting Method.

Impact

Determination of peanut maturity has been a one of the most economical and effective programs established between university faculty (both research and extension), county agents and growers in the peanut industry in Georgia. Based on previous digging loss studies conducted by university faculty, 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 ($0.20 per pound) in 2015, the peanut maturity program at the University of Georgia allowed growers to increase their gross returns by $60.00 per acre as a result of accurately determining peanut maturity. Considering more than 75% of Georgia's peanut acreage (577,500 acres) is evaluated by county agents and extension faculty, the University of Georgia's peanut maturity program has helped growers harvest an extra 173,250,000 pounds of peanut at an estimated value of $34,650,000 (86,625 tons @ $400 per ton).

State Issue

Agricultural Profitability and Sustainability

Details

• Year: 2015
• Geographic Scope: State
• County: Tift
• Program Areas:
  • Agriculture & Natural Resources