Hi,

The ideal PH of soil for peanut growth is between 6.0 and 6.5. This means that the ground were the peanuts grow best in is slightly acidic. The plant grows best in a clay-like ground. However, the clay will turn the peanut dark and that is not what the consumer wants. To satisfy the consumers need, the peanuts are mostly grown in light, sandy soil. The peanut will grow in light, sandy soil, but the crop yield will not be quite as high as in darker clay.
The firtilizer the peanut plant needs (if you want to make use of it), is the same fertilizer that is used for corn, cowpeas and cotton. The only recuirement a peanut plant has is that there should be enough lime in the ground.
As mentioned in one of the blogs, the plant is quite flexible with the amount of water it needs.

The peanut plant is autotrophic and makes use of photosynthesis. This means that the plant takes carbondioxide from the air, water from the ground and energy from the sunlight to make oxygen and glucose.

Water is drawn up the tree through the xylem to the leaves, where the photosythesis takes place. The glucose is transported down to the plant from the leaves. Once the glucose enters the phloem, some being used to sustain the plant and other for storage.
glucose is used to provide energy for the new seeds. The peanut is full of proteins and nutrients. This allows the new seeds to grow for themselves and start the photosynthesis process. However, most of the seeds will not get the change to do so, because they are harvested and sold.

A peanut plant, switches between the haploid and deploid stages during its life. A haploid cell has half the normal number of chromosomes. A diploid cell has a full set of chromosomes.

Peanuts are self-pollinating plants. They do not need help from other insects to carry pollen for example.

After the seed is planted, the first flowers begin to appear. This will take around four to six weeks. When the leaves are growing and become older, it drops closer to the ground. This is because when it is tome to pollinate, the ovary is close to the ground an makes it easier for insertion of the subterranean pod.
When it is time to start pollinating, one flower opens and releases its pollen. The fertilization of the seeds takes place bewteern eight and nine hours after the pollen is released. Eight to fourteen days after fertilization occurs, the ovary elongates into a peg. It is driven vertically into the ground and in the ground in turns horizontal. The peg matures into a pod and, after seven to nine weeks, it becomes a peanut.

Hello!

Today, we dig deeper into the peanut, by talking about the taxonomy. Taxonomy is classifying the plant by his own specie, this includes the terms kingdom, class, order, family, genus and species.
Kingdom: Plantae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fabales
Family: Leguminosae
Genus: Arachis
Species: Hypogaea

The picture illustrates the various levels of the classification from the peanut. The tree shows also what other groups are close to the peanut plant.

The peanut used to grow in the wild, but in now primarily grown as an agricultureal crop. The plant is grown and eaten all over the world and is a staple food in Africa.
The peanut plant originated in South America. When the explorers from Europe arrived they took the peanut plant with them to Europe. After that, the peanut plant spread across Europe to Africa and Asia. It reached North America when the plant arrived with the slave ships.
The leading peanut producer is China, second place is India and third place in United States of America.

Peanuts can be used as food. The peanut is usually eaten whole, raw, roasted, as in oil, peanutbutter. The other parts of the plant can be used as animal-feed, shampoo, fertilizers.
However, in the USA the peanut is most produced into peanut butter.

Hi!

Today I will tell about peanut plant disease and insects on my blog. Diseases and insects can damage the peanut plant, which is way it is important to know about them.

The most common diseases are leaf spot. Leaf spot is a fungus that grows in areas where the weather is warm and moist. The plant leaves will have small spots with light centers. Eventually, the leaves will turn yellow and drop-off.
However, there are multiple ways to control leaf spot, for example crop rotation, remove damaged leaves, plant certified disease-free seeds and stay away from plants when they are wet. These methods are ways of preventing it and if the plants have leave spot, take action as soon as possible to prevent other plants from getting leaf spots as well.

The most common insect pests for the peanut plant are aphids. Aphids are small light green bugs and they multiply rapidly. Aphids suck sap that is within the plant and that can cause damage in a short amount of time. This insect can be prevented by checking the plants regularly and if these insects are present, you can spray with insecticidal soap sprays.

Other common insect pests are Nematodes, Thrips, Leafhoppers, Southern corn rootworm, White grubs and the Wireworm.

- Nematodes: Microscopic small and look like a worm. they kill root systems and cutting down yields. Moreover, they can also carry and spread diseases. How to prevent Nematodes is by crop rotation and add loads of organic matter before the seeds are put in the ground.
- Thrips: Microscopic pests that can transmit diseases. Thrips causes damage of whitish patches on the leaves. They can be controlled with insecticidal soap or destroy severely infested plants.
- Leafhoppers: Leafhoppers suck on the underside of the peanut leaves and spreading diseases. By sucking on the plant, the leaves will turn yellow. To prevent damage of the leafhoppers, control the weeds and cover the plants with floating row covers. If the leafhoppers are already on the plant spraying with pyrethrum can help.
- Southern corn rootworm: Rootworms can kill the entire peanut plant. Rootworms bore into young plants and feed on peanut pegs and pods in the soil. To control corn rootworms, treat the soil with beneficial nematodes.
- White grubs: They live in the soil and feed on the ground parts of the peanut plant. The way to control grubs is by growing green manure crops and by not planting peanuts where grass grew recently. The soil can be treated with beneficial nematodes or milky spore powder.
- Wireworm: Wireworms feed as well as grubs on roots and other underground parts of the peanut plants. To control wireworms there can be made use of beneficial nematodes.

the best chance of harvesting the most peanuts. If the diseases and/or insects occur, you can have a yield loss. This depends on the type of insect/disease and the rate of infected plants.

Take good care of the peanut plants and look good if you see anything unwanted. The faster you see it, the better you can take care of it!

Hello!

Today I will talk about the environment and agroecosystems of peanuts in the USA!

Peanuts require a warm and not-too-wet, not-too-dry climate. Peanut growers are advised to plant peanut seeds only after the risk of frost has passed, and when the soil temperature at a depth of 5 cm reaches 18ºC or warmer for three days in  row. Peanuts will freeze and die if the temperature is under 13ºC, the optimum temperature to grow peanuts is 30ºC 

As you can see, the picture above shows where the Peanuts are grown and in which regio of North America.


This pictures shows the temperatures in Fahrenheit. As you can see, is that the regios where the peanut plants grow, is where the temperature are the highest. In this way, the peanut plants have their perfect circumstances to grow.

Because the peanuts are grown, in the southern part of America, it can be really hot and dry. When those states experience drought, peanut prices start to climb. Every year the rainfall is different, which means that every year the production amount of peanuts changes as well.

The amount and timing of rainfall or irrigation are keys to success. Peanut producers want to balance the amount of water coming in versus the amount of water that evaporate. Peanuts have a very low water requirement early in the season. But as they progress though the season, particularly at 85 to 105 days, the peak evapo-transpiration rate is about .03 inch per day.

The greatest yield reduction in peanuts can occur from a lack of water during the 50- to 110-day growth period. 
It is important to know, what irrigation system you need and how much water the peanut plant needs. 
Peanut plants have four growing stages; germination and emergence, early vegetation, fruiting and maturation.
- Germination and emergence; covers planting through vegetative emergence. There needs to be moisture in the soil when you plant otherwise, the plant will not establish a strong root system.
- Early vegetation; covers from the time plants emerge until the plants start blooming. Plant can live without much water. 
- Fruiting and maturation; covers from bloom to early pegging, the plants are highly susceptible to drought. The plants really need water to develop. 

Growers should be aware of any water deficits or stress during each peanut growth period. Stress occurring during the first critical 30-day period could result in reduced flowering and pegging and eventually leading to a loss in yields.

Thank you for reading!

Hi!

Your heart will go nuts for peanuts!

Peanuts are rich in energy (567 calories per 100 g) and contain health benefiting nutrients, minerals, antioxidants and vitamins that are essential for the health. The peanut kernels are good source of  protein; compose fine quality amino acids that are essential for growth and development.
The nuts are rich source of minerals like copper, manganese, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, and selenium.
The kernels are an excellent source of vitamin E; containing about 8 g per 100 g. Vitamin E helps maintain the integrity of cell membrane of mucus membranes and skin.
The nuts are packed with many important B-complex groups of vitamins such as riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B-6, and folates. 100 g of peanuts provide about 85% of RDI of niacin, which contribute to brain health and blood flow to brain.

Additionally, research studies have shown that peanuts contain high concentrations of poly-phenolic antioxidants, primarily p-coumaric acid. This compound reduce the risk of stomach cancer.

Not only that, Peanuts are an excellent source of resveratrol, another polyphenolic antioxidant. Resveratrol has been found to have protective function against cancers, heart disease, degenerative nerve disease, Alzheimer's disease, and viral/fungal infections.

This picture shows the nutrient parts in raw peanuts and the DRI/DV (Dietary Reference Intakes/Daily Value)

As you can see in the picture, just a handful of peanuts per day provides enough recommended levels of phenolic anti-oxidants, minerals, vitamins, and protein.

And as promised, to make this blog a bit more fun after all these important massages above, below you will find two lovely recipes!

1. homemade peanut butter

2. ultimate Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte

Hello!

As mentioned before I will tell you about growing and harvesting peanuts. 

The picture below shows that peanuts grow under the ground. This makes the peanut a very special plant. People often are surprised to find out that peanuts are not nuts but instead are actually seeds from a leguminous plant related to peas and beans. Almost all peanuts have two nuts in one shell

The short film below (2 min.) will show and explain you how peanuts grow and how the peanuts are harvest. From planting to harvesting, the growing cycle takes four to five months, depending on the type or variety. (There are 4 different varieties, I talked about them in my previous blog.)

As mentioned in the movie, farmers harvest the peanuts in the fall. The peanuts are pulled from the ground by a peanutdigger which is a special machinery and turned over to dry in the fields for 2 or 3 days. The combine machines then separate the peanuts from the vines and put them in a drying trailer.  The peanuts are then taken to be sold at nearby peanut buying stations.
At the shelling company buying station, peanuts are sampled and graded to determine their value. The inspectors establish the meat content, size of pods, kernel size, moisture content, damaged kernels and foreign material. The results of the inspection determine the overall quality and value of each load.The peanuts are placed in dry storage for eventual sale to processors and manufacturers. Peanuts are taken from storage and cleaned; dirt, rocks, bits of vines are removed. If they are to be sold in their shells, the peanuts may also pass through a machine that cuts off any remaining stems on the shells.
After all these processes the decision is made what happends to the peanuts; peanut butter, sold in shell, sold without shell. What the choice will be influence the next processing steps. For butter and the peanuts that are sold without shell this means that the shell has to be removed and the nuts in the shell needs to be cleaned. 

Next time I will tell you if peanuts are good for you and add some delicious recipes! 

Hi!

In this blog I will tell you about the states who grow peanuts in the USA and the different types. 

Seven states account for approximately 99% of all peanuts grown in the U.S. Georgia (41%) grows the major proportion of all peanuts followed by Texas (24%), Alabama (10%), North Carolina (9%), Florida (6%), Virginia (5%), and Oklahoma (5%). There are approximately 25,000 peanut farmers in the major producing regions.

There are four types of different peanuts; Runner, Virginia, Spanish and Valencia. The four types differ in size and flavor. 

Virginia: 
Virginias account for most of the peanuts roasted and eaten as inshells. When shelled, the larger kernels are sold as salted peanuts. Virginias are grown mainly in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina and West Texas. Virginia-type peanuts account for about 15% of total U.S. production.
Runner:
Runners have become the dominant peanut type grown in the U.S. Runners have gained wide acceptance because of their attractive kernel size range; a high proportion of runners are used for peanut butter. Runners, grown mainly in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Texas and Oklahoma, account for 80% of total U.S. production.
Valencia:
Valencias usually have three or more small kernels to a pod. They are very sweet peanuts and are usually roasted and sold in the shell. Because of the greater demand for other varieties, Valencias account for less than 1% of U.S. production and are grown mainly in New Mexico.
Spanish:
Spanish-type peanuts have smaller kernels covered with a reddish-brown skin. They are used predominantly in peanut candy and are used for salted nuts and peanut butter. They have higher oil content than the other types of peanuts which is advantageous when crushing for oil. They are grown in Oklahoma and Texas. Spanish-type peanuts account for 4% of U.S. production.

If you would like to taste the different varieties; you can buy all the peanuts in supermarkets, organic markets or just in a nut shop! Enjoy!

Hello Everybody!

Welcome to my 'Peanuts in the USA' blog. My name is Ilse and I will keep posting blogs on this website for the coming 20 weeks.

I'm currently a second year student at  HAS university of applied sciences and I'm studying International Food and Agribusiness in the Netherlands.


The picture you see above is a peanut plant. The reason why I like this plant so much is because unlike most plants, the peanut plant flowers above the ground, but fruits below the ground. This makes the plant special and very interesting. I'll tell you more about the plant in my following blogs.

For now, some numbers to give you some fun information:

- It takes about 540 peanuts to make a 350 gram jar of peanut butter

- The average peanut farm is 100 acres

- The current top three producers of peanuts are China, India and the U.S.

- Peanuts, along with beans and peas, belong to the single plant family, Leguminosae.
  As a group, they provide the best source of concentrated protein in the plant kingdom.

Thank you for reading, see you next blog!