PEANUT 4S7 



The following rotation including peanuts is recom- 

 mended by Beattie : ' First year, corn or cotton with cow- 

 peas planted between the rows at the laSt cultivation; 

 second year, peanuts followed by rye to be used as a 

 winter pasture, and plowed under in the early spring; 

 third year, cowpeas for hog pasture during the autumn 

 months. 



542. Lime for peanuts. — Lime is very essential, 

 especially for the production of the large-podded varieties 

 of peanuts. Soils that are deficient in lime produce a 

 large percentage of "pops'-' or unfilled pods. As a rule, 

 the sandy soils in the southern states are deficient in lime 

 and should receive an application of 1,000 to 1,500 poimds 

 of lime to the acre every four to six years, if profitable 

 yields of peanuts are to be secured. The lime should be 

 appHed broadcast and harrowed into the soil before the 

 crop is planted. When a smaller amount of time is added 

 it is often applied in the drill and incorporated with the 

 soil before the crop is planted, or it may be drilled on top 

 of the row behind the planter, where it will be mixed with 

 the soil in cultivation. 



Spanish peanuts, although preferring a Hme soil, -can 

 be grown successflilly on soils containing less lime than 

 would be possible with the large-podded varieties. 



543. Fertilizers. — The plant-food constituents most 

 often appUed to peanuts are phosphoric acid and potash. 

 The fertihzer should not be highly nitrogenous, since the 

 peanut is a legmne drawing its nitrogen largely from the 

 soil air. On exceptionally poor soils, from 30 to 50 pounds 

 of nitrate of soda should be added to the acre to promote 

 the early growth of the plants before they are able to secure 

 their nitrogen from the air. On a -soil that is rich in 



1 U. S. Dep't. of Agr., Fanner's Bui. 356, p. 11. 



