Scientific name - Arachis hypogaea

Synonyms --

Popular names - peanuts, arachidic, peanut, cacahuete, Erdnuss, groundnut, nocciola, pistacchio di terra.

Distribution and Habitat - originally from South America.

Description - herbaceous annual. Stem branched, 40-60 cm high. Leaves compound, 8-12 cm long, oblong folio-obovata, margin entire. Flowers yellow, axillary. Peabody, grow underground, contains 1.3 seeds. 2n = 40.

Tolerant - do not tolerate drought and calcareous soils.

Requirements - light soil, sandy, rich in organic substances, pH 5-6.

Management - fertilizers applied during growth. During the flowering apply calcium sulfate.

Propagation - by seedyou. Seeds is sown in April-May, to 5 inches deep and 10-15 cm between plants. For germination requires temperatures between 16 and 20 ͦ C.

Diseases and pests - Pseudomonas solanacearum, Rhizoctonia solani, Alternaria arachidis (necrotic spots, orange-brown), Alternaria alternata (necrotic spots, orange-brown, the ribs), Alternaria tenuissima (disease of the leaves, brown spots), Colletotrichum arachidis ( circular lesions or iregulate with gray-white center and edges brown), Aspergillus niger (disease occurs in the first 10 days after seed germination, attack hipocotilul), Thielaviopsis basicola (disease that attacks the roots, the roots are black, the mold and die), Botrytis cinerea, Macrophomina phaseolina, Lasiodiplodia theobromae, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Cylindrocladium and Fusarium solani parasiticum.

Properties and Uses - peanuts contain 26% protein, vitamin B, calcium, phosphorus, potasiu, iron and magnesium.

Peanut butter: Peanut fresh Toasters 250 ml, 46 ml and 2.5 ml peanut oil salt. It mixes oil and peanuts, then add salt.

2 cotiledoane white seeds were rich in oil and protein. They are sweet, oleaginous, aphrodisiac and tonic. Peanut oil is sweet, laxative and emollient.

Myth, Legend and Folklore - before Columbus, peanuts were unknown in the world. For the first time were mentioned in Spanish chronicles of the sixteenth century.

During the 1800s, peanut oil, has become an important article of commerce.

"Eating Goober Peas" - is a popular song about peanuts.

"Sitting by the roadside, on a summer day,

Chatting with my messmates, passing time away,

Lying in the shadow, underneath the trees,

Goodness how delicious, eating Goober Peas!

Peas! Peas! Peas! Peas! Eating Goober Peas!

Goodness how delicious, eating Goober Peas "

References

Frederic Rosengarten Jr. - Book of Edible Nuts - Dover Publications, 2004

Orient Longman - Indian Medicinal Plants - South Asia Books, 1994

Robert F. Nyvall - Field Crop Diseases - Wiley Blackwell, 1999