No one has to tell Colquitt County peanut producers about how dry it is. As area peanuts are reaching peak water use, depending on planting date, growers need to know how much water to apply or conserve water if they limited amounts. Below are a few comments from the UGA Peanut folks on the current irrigation situation in peanuts.
The first week of August (if the peanuts were planted by May 1), is the peak of the water use curve, requiring about 2.1 inches per week. The good news is that we’re about to move past the peak water use period and start requiring less water. If your peanuts were delayed by 2-4 weeks they will move into the highest water used period soon. Please see the figure below for the ranges of peanuts planted from late April (yellow) and peanuts planted in middle May (blue). Hopefully we’ll begin to pick up some more rainfall to help with these water requirements.
