Divisi
How to grow Groundnut
Arachis hypogaea · Fabaceae
Photo: Ivar Leidus · CC BY-SA 4.0
Groundnut (peanut) is a low, leafy legume that does something no other crop in your field does: it flowers above the ground, but then each fertilised flower sends a little stalk — a peg — down into the soil, and the nut grows and fills underground. Because the plant makes its own nitrogen at its roots, it asks for very little fertiliser — but it does need loose soil the pegs can enter, calcium in the pod zone when it flowers, and above all a fast, clean dry-down after lifting, so the nuts store free of the hidden mould poison called aflatoxin. Quick-maturing Spanish/bunch types (about 90–110 days) and slower spreading Virginia/runner types (120–150 days) grow the same way — you can tell which you have by how the plant sits on the ground: a bunch type stands upright in a tight clump, while a runner type trails its stems flat and spreading over the soil. This guide is timed for a Spanish/bunch type of around 105 days.
Biswarup Ganguly · CC BY 3.0 
Syariful Msth · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Days to maturity
- 90–150 days
- Row spacing
- 45 cm
- Plant spacing in the row
- 9 cm
- Sowing depth
- 5–7 cm
These are general figures for the crop, compiled from published agronomic references including FAO and CABI. The right choice for your field depends on your soil, rainfall and the yield you are aiming for.
Will groundnut actually do well on your land? Check your field against every crop in the catalogue — free, no signup. Run the free crop check →
Other names for Groundnut
grondboon · groundnut · peanut · monkey nut · arachide · pistache de terre · gyada · mtedza · amendoim · nzungu · letokomane · karanga · njugu · epa · intongomane
Working in buckets, bags or paces? The farming glossary turns the measures growers actually use into kilograms and hectares — what a 20 litre bucket of each crop really weighs, and how to size a field by walking it — alongside the Shona, Swahili, Ndebele and Yoruba words used in the field. Open the glossary →
Growing groundnut, stage by stage
Your groundnut season, step by step — from a deep, loose seedbed and clean seed, through planting, flowering and the pegs that carry your pods underground, to lifting and drying fast so the crop stores clean and free of aflatoxin.
- Get your field and inputs ready
- Plant and get a full, even stand
- Grow the canopy — and finish weeding before pegging
- Flowering and pegging — the pods form now
- Fill the pods and keep aflatoxin out
- Lift and cure (dry fast to beat aflatoxin)
- Dry, shell and store — aflatoxin-safe
20 step-by-step tasks in the app
Every task for groundnut — what to do, when to do it and why it matters — with the amounts worked out for your own field, reminders as each one falls due, and warnings before extreme weather.
Pests and diseases that attack groundnut
14 more threats tracked in the app
Divisi tells you which of these is a risk on your groundnut right now, when to walk the field looking for it, and what to do the moment you find it.
Frequently asked questions
How long does groundnut take to grow?
Groundnut takes about 90–150 days from sowing to maturity, though the exact length varies with variety, temperature and how the season runs.
What spacing should I use for groundnut?
Space groundnut rows about 45 cm apart, with roughly 9 cm between plants within the row.
How deep should groundnut be planted?
Sow groundnut at about 5–7 cm deep. Shallower risks drying out; deeper wastes seed energy before the shoot reaches light.
What pests and diseases attack groundnut?
The ones covered in this guide are Bacterial wilt, Bruchids (bean and cowpea weevils), Charcoal rot. Each has its own page explaining how to identify, scout for and control it.
Grow groundnut with a plan, not a guess
Divisi turns this guide into a dated plan for your own field — what to do each week, reminders as tasks fall due, and warnings before extreme weather. Free for farmers, works offline.
Or check your field first