200 



THE PEANUT— THE UNPREDICTABLE LEGUME 



some of the peanuts are dug before the crop is entirely ripe and the last 

 of the crop is dug after the crop is over-ripe. 



Usually it is more difficult to determine when to harvest runner pea- 

 nuts than is the case with Spanish. The runner peanut may set a crop of 

 fruit and if conditions become favorable, a new crop of fruit is set on the 

 ends of the vines. When such a condition occurs, it is necessary to decide 

 whether to harvest in order to save the first crop of fruit or to delay 

 harvest and save the second crop. If the second crop appears to be the 

 larger, it is usually better to delay harvest and save the later crop. The 

 pods that were formed early will be left in the soil, but these can be 

 utilized by hogs, and therefore are not lost. 



There are many types of 

 machines used in digging pea- 

 nuts that work satisfactorily. 

 None of the machines are ef- 

 ficient unless the crop is free 

 of grass and weeds, which 

 clog the implements and 

 make digging difficult. The 

 most common type of imple- 

 ment used in digging bunch- 

 type peanuts is a mold board 

 plow with a long point at- 

 tached. This cuts the main 

 root and loosens the soil. 



For runner peanuts a long 

 flat bar sharpened and at- 

 tached to a cultivator is used to run underneath the vines. Peanut-digging 

 plows with finger like bars that lift the vines from the soil are in use. 

 Many of the modern diggers are of a 2-row tractor-drawn type. 



Another type of digger, somewhat like a potato digger, is coming into 

 use. This implement lifts and shakes the vines, and leaves them on top 

 of the ground— all in one operation. A more recent type of digger, when 

 tractor-drawn, lifts, shakes and puts together two rows at a time, leaving 

 the vines on top of the ground. 



After the peanuts are plowed up, they are allowed usually to wilt for 2 

 to 8 hours before they are stacked. It is customary to windrow the peanuts 

 to facilitate stacking either before or after they are wilted. Windrowing 

 and shaking may be done by hand, by side delivery rakes, or by special 

 machinery. In any case the peanuts should be shaken as free of dirt as pos- 



Figure 5. — ^Turn plow-type peanut digger. 



