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Remote areas: | 3-5 business days |
The peanut, or groundnut (Arachis hypogaea), is a species in the legume or "bean" family (Fabaceae). It is an annual herbaceous plant growing 30 to 50 cm (1.0 to 1.6 ft) tall. The leaves are opposite, pinnate with four leaflets (two opposite pairs; no terminal leaflet); each leaflet is 1 to 7 cm ( to 2 in) long and 1 to 3 cm ( to 1 inch) across. The flowers are a typical peaflower in shape, 2 to 4 cm (0.8 to 1.6 in) ( to 1 in) across, yellow with reddish veining. The specific name, hypogaea means "under the earth"; after pollination, the flower stalk elongates, causing it to bend until the ovary touches the ground. Continued stalk growth then pushes the ovary underground where the mature fruit develops into a legume pod, the peanut a classical example of geocarpy. Pods are 3 to 7 cm (1.2 to 2.8 in) long, containing 1 to 4 seeds. Despite its name and appearance, the peanut is not a nut, but rather a legume. The orange-veined, yellow-petaled, pea-like flower of the Arachis hypogaea is borne in axillary clusters above ground. Following self-pollination, the flowers fade and wither. The stalk at the base of the ovary, called the pedicel, elongates rapidly, and turns downward to bury the fruits several inches in the ground, where they complete their development. The entire plant, including most of the roots, is removed from the soil during harvesting. The fruits have wrinkled shells that are constricted between pairs of the one to four (usually two) seeds per pod. Peanuts grow best in light, sandy loam soil. They require five months of warm weather, and an annual rainfall of 500 to 1,000 mm (20 to 39 in) or the equivalent in irrigation water. The pods ripen 120 to 150 days after the seeds are planted. If the crop is harvested too early, the pods will be unripe. If they are harvested late, the pods will snap off at the stalk, and will remain in the soil. They need an acidic soil to grow preferably with 5.9-7 pH. Size of Pack - Available in 100 gram, 500 gram and 1kg packs For larger packs and a full price list of all our sprouting and microgreen seeds please click here |
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