CHAPTER VI 



CULTURAL PRACTICES 



By 

 D. G. STURKIE AND J. T. WILLIAMSON^ 



Research work involving some of the cultural practices with peanuts 

 has been rather limited. Most of the experiment stations have conducted 

 spacing tests; several have carried time-of-planting and seed-treatment 

 tests ; a few have studied seed preparation, seed types, and disease and 

 insect control by dusting. However, the data on soil preparation, plant- 

 ing depths, cultivation, harvesting, curing, picking and perhaps other 

 phases of this subject are either extremely meager or nonexistent. Station 

 publications on many of these subjects carry only the authors' opinions. 

 The authors of this chapter are in accord with most of these views, and, 

 where data are not available, they have included such opinions as the 

 best information obtainable on the subject. 



PLANTING 



Preparation of the Soil 



There are very few data from controlled experiments with different 

 methods of preparing land for peanuts. However, there is practically 

 unanimous agreement among all research workers and extension agrono- 

 mists that the land should be thoroughly and completely prepared before 

 planting. Land is prepared for peanuts in much the same way as for 

 cotton. Plowing is done early when there is no winter cover crop on the 

 land. It is difficult to prepare land properly for peanuts if a large 

 growth of residue from the preceding crop is turned under just prior 

 to planting. For this reason plowing in the late fall or early winter is 

 practiced frequently in order to permit complete decorhposition of 

 residues before time for planting. When a winter cover crop such as 



^ D. G. Sturkie and J. T. Williamson are agronomists, Alabama Agricultural Experiment 

 Station. 



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