Seeding Rate for Twin Row Peanut Cultivars - Are Farmers Planting Too Many Seed?.

Peanut planted in twin row pattern has a greater capacity for achieving a denser plant stand than single row peanut.  The UGA Extension recommendation for seeding rate is around 20 seed m^-1, although some farmers tend to plant at greater seeding rates to insure an optimum plant stand and maximize yield (reported as high as 33 seed m^-1).  However, increased seeding rates cost farmers more money and take kernels away from the edible market which influences seed cost, especially when demand exceeds supply.  Experiments were conducted in 2008 and 2010 at the Attapulgus Research and Education Center in Georgia to test four peanut cultivars (Georgia Green, Georgia-06G, Tifguard, and Florida-07) at five seeding rates (17, 20, 23, 27, and 29 seed m^-1) for yield, grade, and disease incidence.  There were no differences in yield (7420 to 7680 kg ha^-1), grade (74-75% total sound mature kernels), or tomato spotted wilt virus incidence (2-3%) among the seeding rates.  There were increases in plant stand with increasing seeding rate, and also a reduction in percentage of surviving plants compared to initial seeding rate (89% stand at 17 seed m^-1; 68-69% stand at 27 and 29 seed m^-1).  This data suggests that many farmers are planting twin rows at a much higher seeding rate than needed, which is costing more money on inputs with no return in outputs, and simultaneously driving up the cost of seed peanuts by removing more from the edible supply.