Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Peanut plant with flowers	Peanut plant with fruit

Source: Bock D., MPI Köln

Distribution, Yield, Use:

Production (1000t) Yield (dt/ha)

Country	1979-81	1992	1979-81	1992
India	6000	8200	8.4	9.5
China	3500	5580	14.8	21.0
USA	1550	1940	25.9	28.4
Nigeria	465	1215	8.3	12.1
Senegal	690	580	6.6	6.3
S. America	975	575	15.0	17.4
World	18540	23500	9.9	11.4

• Distribution:
  Grown in tropical and subtropical areas. The most important countries for production are India, China, USA, West and Southern Africa and Brazil. In the north, cultivation extends to the warm temperate zones. Thrives between 25-28oC and ca. 500 mm rainfall in open soil.
• Use:
  Foodstuff (cooking oil, raw seeds, roasted, boiled) Animal feed (pressings, seeds, green material, straw) Industrial raw material (soap, detergent, cosmetics) Peanut seeds contain 40-50% fat, 20-50% protein, 10-20% carbohydrate

Region of origin: Region of cultivation:

• Cultivation and Breeding:
  The origins of the peanut lie in South America. Archaeological finds already document cultivation between 3000 and 2500 BC. An ancestral plant is not known. Very probably, several diploid wild-types with two-valved fruits were involved in the origins of the tetraploid cultured variety. Presumably the indigenous South American Indians practised selection on the pre-existing wild-types, and by crossing plants, ultimately facilitated the generation of the cultivated form. There are creeping and erect varieties with 1-4 seeds in the shell.
• Breeding aims:
  Priorities are resistance to fungal diseases and viruses. Besides these priorities, important roles are played by growth form, cultivation requirements, growing time, fruit stability on the plant, and as quality attributes, nutritional content and composition, and taste.

Text by Dr. Wolfgang Schuchert
Adapted to HTML by R.Saedler