Optimum Plant Density for Increased Groundnut Pod Yield and Economic Benefits in the Semi-Arid Tropics of West Africa

Abstract

Groundnut is a very important crop in the West and Central Africa (WCA) region, accounting for almost 70% of Africa’s groundnut production in 2019. Despite its economic importance, the crop’s yield is still low. For a high yield and profitable economic returns, optimal plant density is a fundamental crop management practice. Plant density experiments were conducted at the ICRISAT-Mali research station between 2016 and 2021 over the main rainy and dry seasons to determine the optimum density for maximum groundnut yield and economic benefits. The treatments contained row spacing of 20 cm, 30 cm, 40 cm, 50 cm, 60 cm, 70 cm, 80 cm, 90 cm, and 100 cm, with intra-row spacing of 10 cm, 15 cm, and 20 cm. Results showed that when plant density was increased, dry pod yield, production value, and net economic benefit per hectare increased in a no moisture stress scenario. During the rainy season, the 40 cm × 10 cm spacing gave the highest dry pod yield (1693 kg), production value ($891.6), and net benefit ($403.5) per hectare. The highest dry pod yield (3703 kg), production value ($2173), and net benefit ($1510.2) per hectare were obtained from 30 cm × 10 cm spacing during the dry season. The number of pods per plant and 100 SW increased with lower plant densities. Therefore, it is recommended to increase plant density to at least 222,000 plants per hectare in the Sudan Savannah agroecology of WCA.