Skip‐Row Planting and Row Pattern Effects on Virginia‐Type Peanut Cultivars1

Abstract

AbstractSince increasing peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) production per area of land is a constant goal of researchers, skip‐row planting was an avenue that needed exploring. A 3‐year study was conducted at the Tidewater Research and Continuing Education Center in Suffolk, Va. to determine the effects of two planting patterns, two row patterns, and two cultivars on the yield, value, and grade characteristics of virginia‐type peanut. Planting patterns of solid (all rows planted) and skip‐row (two 0.91 m rows planted and one 0.91 m wide row fallow) were used in a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with row patterns of a single row centered in a 0.91 m wide row and twinrows (0.18 m apart) centered in a 0.91 m wide row for the cvs. Florigiant and NC 7. Plots were 3.66 m wide and 10.67 m long with the two center rows harvested for the single row planting and the four center rows harvested for the twin row planting. Soil types for the study were Dragston fine sandy loam (coarse‐loamy, mixed, thermic, Aerie Ochraquults) in 1979, Dragston loamy fine sand in 1980, and an Eunola loamy fine sand (fine‐loamy, siliceous, thermic Aquic Hapludults) in 1981. NC 7 produced a higher percentage of extra large kernels (ELK), sound mature kernels (SMK), total meat (TM) and had a higher dollar value ha−1 than Florigiant. No differences were found between the two cultivars for yield or percentage of fancy size pods (FP). The two row patterns had no effect on yield, value or any grade characteristic. Skip‐row planting produced a significantly (P < 0.01) higher yield and value on a planted hectare basis than did solid planting, while no differences were recorded for any grade characteristic. The highest yield (4599 kg ha−1) and value (2266 dol ha−1) were recorded for NC7 in the twin‐row pattern with skip‐row planting.