GROWING PEANUTS IN ALABAMA 



By 



J. F. DUGGAR, 



E. F. Cauthen, 



J. T. Williamson, 



O. H. Sellers. 



Summary. 



The average yield of unshelled peanuts obtained 

 from regular variety tests, made in different parts of 

 the State and covering a period of five years, ranged 

 from 871 pounds of McGovern to 1244 pounds of Red 

 Spanish per acre. Taking the yield of Red Spanish as 

 a basis (100 percent), the percentage yield of the differ- 

 ent varieties averaged as follows: 



Red Spanish 100 Tennessee Red - __ 86 



Valencia 91 Virginia Bunch 86 



White Spanish 88 Virginia Runner 85 



McGovern ._ 87 North Carolina Runner 84 



The average percentage of shelled nuts or "meats" 

 of each variety, obtained by carefully weighing and 

 hand-shelling a given amount of dry unshelled peanuts, 

 shows a remarkably wide variation, from 39.3 per- 

 cent in Jumbo to 75.1 percent in White Spanish. The 

 true commercial value of the crop of an acre is based, 

 not on the number of pounds of unhulled peanuts, but 

 on the number of pounds of "meats" produced. 



The common varieties of peanuts are divided into 

 two great classes — those having an upright or bunch 

 habit of growth, and those having a low spreading or 

 running habit. To the bunch varieties belong the White 

 Spanish, Red Spanish, Valencia, Virginia Bunch, and 

 Tennessee Red. Among the running varieties are the 

 North Carolina or African, Virginia Runner, McGovern, 

 and the Running Jumbo. 



In a number of experiments there were found 

 great differences in the weight of single unshell- 

 ed peanuts, of "peas" of different varieties, and the 

 average percentage of sound "peas" per pod. The 

 heaviest unshelled peanuts were the Tennessee Red 

 (246 pods to the pound), and the lightest, the White 

 Spanish (461 pods to the pound). 



