AFRICA SOIL HEALTH CONSORTIUM Corporate logo variations 24th Aug. 201201: Original version Version 02: Green: CMYK= 66, 0, 99, 0 Orange: CMYK= 5, 65, 100, 0 Version 03: Dark grey: CMYK= 0, 0, 0, 70 Light grey: CMYK= 0, 0, 0, 55 Version 04: Green: CMYK= 66, 0, 99, 0 Orange: CMYK= 35, 0, 64, 0 Groundnut cropping guide Haile Desmae and Keith Sones Haile Desmae and Keith Sones3 2 Produced by the Africa Soil Health Consortium Produced by the Africa Soil Health Consortium Groundnut cropping guide By Haile Desmae and Keith Sones. © CAB International 2017 Please cite this publication as: Haile Desmae and Keith Sones (2017) G\ roundnut cropping guide. Africa Soil Health Consortium, Nairobi. This publication is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Creative Commons License: • to Share — to copy, distribute and transmit the work • to Remix — to adapt the work • to make commercial use of the work Under the following conditions: • Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of \ the work). With the understanding that: • Waiver — Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission fr\ om the copyright holder. • Public Domain — Where the work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license. • Other Rights — In no way are any of the following rights affected by the license: • Your fair dealing or fair use rights, or other applicable copyright exceptions and limitations; • The author’s moral rights; • Rights other persons may have either in the work itself or in how the work is used, such as publicity or privacy rights. Notice — For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of\ this work (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Limits of liability Although the authors have used their best efforts to ensure that the contents of this book are correct at the time of printing, it is impossible to cover all situations. T\ he information is distributed on an ‘as is’ basis, without warranty. Neither the authors nor the publisher shall be liable for any liability, loss of profit, or other damages caused or alleged to have been caused directly or indirectly by following the guidelines in this book.3 2 Produced by the Africa Soil Health Consortium Produced by the Africa Soil Health Consortium About the publisher The ASHC mission is to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers through adoption of integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) approaches that optimize fertilizer use efficiency and effectiveness. ASHC books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases. Special editions, foreign language translations and excerpts, can also be arranged. Paperback: 978-1-78639-316-6 E-book: 978-1-78639-317-3 Typeset by Sarah Twomey Addresses of authors Haile Desmae Senior Scientist - Groundnut Breeder ICRISAT-Mali, BP320, Bamako, Mali International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) Phone: +223 71178098 (cell) +223 20709200 (office) Fax: +223 20709201 Skype: haileb_02 www.icrisat.org http://EXPLOREit.icrisat.org Keith Sones ASHC CABI, P.O. Box 633-00621, Nairobi, Kenya5 4 Produced by the Africa Soil Health Consortium Produced by the Africa Soil Health Consortium Acknowledgements This cropping guide was jointly produced by staff from CABI and ICRISAT. The authors are grateful to both organizations for facilitating their participation and mobilizing resources and assets including knowledge products and photographs. We wish to thank Simon Ndonye for his excellent illustrations and Wondimu Bayu for kindly reviewing the early drafts. This cropping guide has been produced thanks to support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through a grant to the Africa Soil Health Consortium project, managed by CABI.5 4 Produced by the Africa Soil Health Consortium Produced by the Africa Soil Health Consortium Contents 1. Introduction 6 2. Groundnut cropping systems 7 3. Requirements for growing groundnut 10 4. Land preparation, rotations and intercrops, and planting 11 5. Groundnut management 20 6. What can go wrong 33 7. Groundnut production economics 437 6 Produced by the Africa Soil Health Consortium Produced by the Africa Soil Health Consortium 1. Introduction This cropping guide is one in a series being produced for extension workers by the African Soil Health Consortium (ASHC). The series also covers banana-coffee, cassava, maize-legumes, sorghum and millet-legumes, rice systems and sweetpotato, but this guide is\ focused on groundnut. Rural extension workers will find this handbook particularly useful for guiding their clients as they shift from producing groundnut under traditional cropping systems for subsistence to more market- oriented enterprises through sustainable intensification. The guide aims to provide, in a single publication, all the most important information neede\ d to design and implement effective systems, including those that combine groundnut with a range of other crops, either as intercrops or in rotations, but with the primary focus on groundnut. Although ASHC’s work is focused on the needs of smallholder farmers in Africa, emerging and established commercial farmers will also find the contents relevant and useful. The ASHC mission is to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers through adoption of Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) approaches that optimise fertilizer use efficiency and effectiveness. The overarching framework for the guide is therefore provided by ISFM. The overall objective of the handbook is to provide simple, useful tips on how farmers with small to medium-sized farms can benefit from more efficient and profitable groundnut production. Currently yields in Africa average under 1 tonne per hectare and can be as low as 500 kg or less: in comparison yields in Asia average over 2.2 tonnes per hectare and are close to 4 tonnes per hectare in the Americas. By following the recommendations in this guide, smallholder farmers should be able to incr\ ease production from under 1 tonne per hectare to as much as 2.5-3 tonnes per hectare or more. By adopting optimal crop rotations, yield of crops such as cereals will also be increased and by adopting successful intercrop combinations and arrangements smallholder farmers will benefit from increases in overall production and profitability.7 6 Produced by the Africa Soil Health Consortium Produced by the Africa Soil Health Consortium 2. Groundnut cropping systems What is groundnut? Despite its name, groundnut, also called peanut, is not a nut. It is a member of the legume \ family, which also includes common bean, cowpea and soybean amongst others. A common feature of all legumes is that, in partnership with certain types of bacteria, they can fix nitrogen from the air and use this important nutrient to help the plant develop and\ grow. Crops grown near to legumes (intercrops), or in the same plot the following season (crop rotation), can also benefit from this nitrogen. Uniquely among legume crops, groundnut pods are formed in the soil. The groundnut flowers above ground, like other legumes, but after the flower has been pollinated and withers, the flower stalk grows longer, bends down and pushes the pollinated flower into the soil. The pod develops in the soil and usually 2-4 seeds develop in each pod. The elongated flower stalk, found only on groundnut, is known as a peg (Figure 1). Figure 1: Groundnut plant Why grow groundnut? Groundnut is an important crop cultivated by smallholder farmers. It is a nutritious and tasty foodstuff, and also an important cash crop for which there is often strong local demand as well as an export market.9 8 Produced by the Africa Soil Health Consortium Produced by the Africa Soil Health Consortium The groundnut value chain employs significant number of people and makes an important contribution to the economies of producing countries in Africa. Globally, groundnut is cultivated in more than 100 countries, far more than any other legume. Groundnut grows well in the arid and semi-arid tropics, does not require large amounts of inputs and fits well into rainfed crop rotations and intercrop systems. In some countries, it covers up to 60% of the area under crop production. Groundnut is also relatively drought resistant: the tap root can grow down to 2 metres in depth, deeper than many other crops. Breeders are also working to develop new, improved varieties that are even more drought tolerant to increase productivity and enhance farmers’ resilience in the face of changing climate. Groundnut is rich in protein, oil and some vitamins and minerals. It can be eaten in a wide variety of forms including roasted as snacks, made into a butter and a range of confectionary products and also flour. When cooked and pureed, thick rich groundnut sauce is an important feature of daily cooking, especially in West Africa. Groundnut contains up to 60% or more oil and groundnut oil is an important vegetable oil in Africa. Groundnut therefore plays important roles in household food and nutrition security, and as a source of cash income for smallholder farmers. Being a legume it can fix atmospheric nitrogen (N), which can benefit the crop planted after, so maize and other cereals do well after groundnut in a rotation. Overall, it contributes to stability and dynamism of farming systems as well as ecosystem sustainability. The haulms – that is the leaves and stems – are protein-rich and are a valuable livestock feed for cattle, sheep and goats. This is especially useful in the dry season\ when fresh grazing is not available. Smallholder farmers who do not have their own livestock c\ an sell the haulms to livestock farmers and traders. When groundnut is used for oil production, the residue material (by-product) left after oil has been extracted – known as groundnut meal or groundnut cake - is a useful protein-rich animal feed for pig, dairy, poultry and other types of livestock. In some countries, the cake from domestic oil pressing is ground into flour and used in human foods. In some parts of Africa, such as West Africa, groundnut is largely grown by women. The income they derive from selling part or the entire crop tends to be used for the benefit of the family, such as to pay school fees or meet other household needs. Any produce not sold is used for home consumption in various forms as a high energy and protein food source, or oil for cooking, thus contributing to household nutrition and health. In general\ , women and young people play important roles in the cultivation and small-scale processing of groundnut. The challenge of growing groundnut Yields of groundnut in Africa are generally low – on average about one-quarter or less of that achieved in the Americas and less than half that in Asia. The main reasons for this include:9 8 Produced by the Africa Soil Health Consortium Produced by the Africa Soil Health Consortium Unreliable rainfall and lack of irrigation • Lack of mechanisation • Presence of pests and diseases, especially groundnut rosette, aflatoxin and leaf spot diseases (see page 48) • Use of marginal land and poor fertility soils • Use of low yielding, unimproved varieties Lack of access to seed of improved groundnut varieties • Generally, use of poor agronomic practices and little access to extension services. Groundnut varieties Throughout Africa many different varieties of groundnut are grown. These vary quite widely in important characteristics such as growth habit (either bunch types which grow upright, or runner types which grow close to the ground), number of seeds per pod, colour of seed coat, seed size, time to maturity of crop, dormancy of seed after harvest, oil content and taste. The varieties grown include traditional local ones that have been grown by smallholder farmers for many generations as well as new, improved varieties. The improved varieties have been developed by breeders and researchers in the national research programmes and or regional/ international research institutes (e.g. ICRISAT) to have certain desirable traits, such as high grain yield, high oil content, early maturing to cope with increased risk of drought, or resistance and tolerance to drought and important pests and diseases. The many different varieties of groundnut fall into four main groups: Virginia types can be either spreading or upright in growth habit and are mostly late maturing. They have large kernels and are used in confectionary, roasted and salted, or roasted in the shell. Runner types are spreading and mostly late maturing. They have medium sized kernels and are used for making confectionary and butter, and also for salting. Spanish types are mostly upright and are easier to pull from hard soil because the pods cluster around the tap root and they also have strong pegs. They have small to medium sized kernels with high oil contents and so are good for crushing for oil. They are also used in confectionary, as salted nuts and made into butter. Valencia types are upright with small to medium sized kernels. They are usually roasted and sold in the shell. Smallholder farmers need to check which varieties are available locally. If they are aiming to sell their produce to a specific buyer then they need to ensure the variety they select meets the buyer’s requirements in terms of size, colour, taste and other characteristics.11 10 Produced by the Africa Soil Health Consortium Produced by the Africa Soil Health Consortium 3. Requirements for growing groundnut Soil: Groundnut grows best on deep, loose, well-drained sandy soils without compaction layers. Such soils are easily penetrated by pegs and roots and permeated by water. The crop can also more easily be pulled up at harvest without leaving pods behind in the soil\ . Such soils are not prone to water-logging; groundnut cannot tolerate water-logging. Sandy, sandy loams or loamy sand soils are all suitable. Tip: If a handful of soil rolled between the palms of the hand can be formed into a stable ball or \ flattened into a ribbon then the soil has a high clay content. This is not suitable for groundnut cultivation. The soil should also be light coloured. This indicates that it is relatively low in organic matter, which helps prevent fungal diseases. It also means that the soil will not stain the po\ ds, which can reduce the market value of the crop if it is sold in the pod. The pH should be 5.5 to 7.0 (slightly acidic to neutral). Groundnut cannot tolerate saline soils. Water: Depending on the type of groundnut being grown, the crop requires between 250 and 1,000 mm of rain during the growing period: extremely early maturing varieties need 250-400 mm; early varieties 300-500 mm; late maturing varieties 500-1,000 mm. If the rainfall is above 1,000 mm then groundnut should be grown on ridges unless the soil is very well drained. Temperature: Optimum temperatures for growing groundnut are 25-30° C. Temperatures above 35° C are detrimental to groundnut production. Under lower temperatures, the germination is delayed; the delay in germination exposes the seeds to soil pathogen attack for a longer period. Below 17° C, crop growth almost ceases. Cooler temperature, especially at night, will also delay harvesting. Altitude: Groundnut should not be grown in areas more than 1,500 metres above sea level as the temperature is likely to be low for groundnut.
