Erratic Emergence/Late Planted Peanuts – How Can Maturity Be Affected?
Scott Monfort
I know I mentioned maturity last month also but it is important that growers do not forget what
happened during the planting season regardless of the planting date.
The issue I wanted to repeat is dealing with fields planted early and late where peanut emergence was
slow and erratic (coming up over a 2-3 week period). Some of these fields had to be replanted, or more
commonly had more seed added to the existing stand. Although younger peanut plants can catch up
some, there is a good chance some fields will have mixed maturities. Make sure growers understand
that the time required to reach optimal harvest would not be 140 days from planting. It might be 150 to
160 days after planting. Growers need to keep good records of replanted or slow growing fields. This
will help you at maturity blasting time.
For late June, or early July planted peanuts, the question is always “will the fields planted that late reach
optimal maturity”. The answer is probably not. If we have “normal” minimum temperatures in late
October to middle of November, then late planted peanuts will likely not have the chance to fully
mature. The good news is we do not have a lot of June planted peanuts.
Food for thought — most of the cultivars we planted this year take an average of 140-145 DAP to reach
optimal maturity. Therefore, a field planted on June 20 would need until November 7 to reach 140 days.
There are some fields that were planted around July 1 which means they would need until November 17
and later to reach optimal maturity. Keep in mind that as the minimum temperatures reach into the
lower 50’s and upper 40’s the maturation process begins to slow down considerably. Peanut fields
planted in late June or early July the maturation timing would be extended an extra 10 days or more.
I will try to come up with a location and time to do a few maturity training/updates in late August or
early September. Please let me know if you are interested in hosting one for a few of the newer agents.
The good news is the peanut crop looks good currently. Will the situation remain the same for the rest
of the season? Who Knows!!!! It will all depend on what kind of rainfall and temperatures we have in
July, August, and September and if we set pods in a normal manner and whether or not we have normal,
above normal, or below normal minimum temperatures in late October and November. Keep your
fingers crossed for a great year for peanuts in Georgia