Information About the Peanut Plant, Its Cultivation & Uses

About the Peanut Plant

• Historically, peanuts traveled the world with sailors from Peru around the time of the Spanish conquest. George Washington Carver utilized the peanut in innovative ways starting in 1903. According to the Northern Illinois University Department of Biological Sciences, Carver experimented with the plant using selective breeding techniques and encouraged Southern farmers to rotate peanut crops with cotton. Today, farmers plant peanuts in May and harvest the crops in September. Peanuts eaten today consist of four varieties: Spanish, Virginia, runner and Valencia. The shell of the peanut contains two seeds, which make up the edible part of the plant. The shells grow buried in the soil. Peanut plants are removed from the ground and allowed to sun dry. Peanuts are then separated from the dried vines and further dried. Peanuts are then sent to sellers, distributors or processing plants to be shelled, packaged or shipped elsewhere for further processing.

Cultivation

• Cultivation is the process of preparing ground to grow vegetables or other crops. Cultivating includes tilling and preparing the soil with fertilizers. Tilling turns the soil in preparation for seeding and removes weeds. Peanut crops are often rotated with other crops to maximize the nutrient content of the soil. Crops rotated with peanuts include grasses, corn and cotton. Fields are prepared for planting in March with fertilizers and tilling. Peanut seeds are planted at depths of about 3 inches and spaced in rows about 38 inches apart. Farmers continue to cultivate the soil to remove weeds and treat peanut crops to reduce disease and predatory insects.

Uses

• The Northern Illinois University Department of Biological Sciences maintains that peanut butter, as we know it, was developed by J.H. Kellogg in 1897. Peanuts are used in many food products. The rest of the peanut plant is also utilized: the dried vines are used as livestock feed and crop fertilizer, and the shells are incorporated into products such as byproduct fireplace logs.

Considerations

• Perhaps the most important consideration concerning peanuts and peanut-based food products is the awareness of peanut-related food allergies. The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network maintains that allergies to peanuts among people are rising. Peanut allergies produce a variety of symptoms, some of which are hives, wheezing, coughing, swelling, difficulty with breathing, or vomiting. The good news is, according to the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, among children with peanut-related allergies, 20 percent will eventually outgrow the intolerance.