When to plant Bambara groundnut in Salah Bouchaour

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Bambara groundnut

Skikda, Algeria

Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea) is one of Africa's own beans — a tough, low, bushy plant, often grown by the women of the household on the poorest, sandiest land where maize would fail.

Bambara groundnut in Salah Bouchaour, rain-fed and with irrigation
Fit Favourable
When to plant 1 May 2027 – 20 Jul 2027 opens in 30 weeks
Expected harvest about 1.8 t/ha
Harvest From 30 Jul 2027 to 6 Jan 2028, depending on the planting date
Ready to harvest 90–170 days after planting
Work it takes 77–157 days per hectare, by hand

Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.

If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 1 May 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.

This season's rainfall outlook for Salah Bouchaour leans dry, so these dates sit later than the long-run average. Planting on the date you are used to risks germinating into a false start and having to replant.

Planting after 20 Jul 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.

What decides this in Salah Bouchaour

Rain and temperature 96%
The soil 76%
The lie of the land 76%

For bambara groundnut in Salah Bouchaour, the soil is the tightest of the three at 76%. This is the one you can actually move. Lime raises a sour soil, manure and compost lift what it holds, and both work within a season or two — money spent here changes the answer.

The 2026/27 season in Salah Bouchaour

When the rains are expectedSeptember 2026 to May 2027
Rain in a typical yearAbout 681 mm
This season's rainLeaning dry — January, February, November and December look short of rain. Plant at the early end of the window, favour quicker and more drought-tolerant crops, and keep moisture in the soil: mulch, and weed early.
This season's heatHotter than usual — about +1.1 °C over the growing months. Heat makes the same rain do less, so a dry spell bites sooner: do not plant late, and shade or mulch what you can.
What that supportsenough rain for one full main crop, warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth
Ground this covers2 kinds of ground. The season below is the largest that farms — about 85% of this area.
Agro-ecological zones covering this area
85% enough rain for one full main crop; warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth 235 growing days · about 680 mm · September to May
15% enough rain for one full main crop; warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth 233 growing days · about 700 mm · September to May

last updated 18 September 2026

Frost and pest pressure hold back about 15% of yield here.

What bambara groundnut needs to grow here

Soil it likes well-drained sand or sandy loam soil
Soil sourness (pH) Happiest between pH 5.0 and 6.5
Spacing 40 cm between rows, 15 cm between plants
Feed it most with phosphorus and calcium

What it takes to grow bambara groundnut in Salah Bouchaour

Planting materialAbout 125,000 plants per hectare
Nitrogen (N)About 90 kg per hectare — the crop fixes most of this itself; inoculated seed matters more than a bag
Phosphate (P₂O₅)About 18 kg per hectare
Potash (K₂O)About 45 kg per hectare
In the shopsA basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. Skip the nitrogen top dressing; inoculated seed does that job.
Hand work77–157 days per hectare, by hand

These are the nutrients a bambara groundnut crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.

What to watch for

Pest/disease risk — manageableSoil pH below the crop's optimum

Grow Bambara groundnut with a plan, not a guess

Everything above describes Salah Bouchaour as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.

Or check your field first

This calendar moves

Planting windows shift with the forecast. Leave your email and we'll send what changed, and a note when planting time nears — a couple of emails a month at most.

Frequently asked questions

Will bambara groundnut grow well in Salah Bouchaour?

Salah Bouchaour rates as favourable for bambara groundnut.

When should I plant bambara groundnut in Salah Bouchaour?

Typically 1 May 2027 to 20 Jul 2027, forecast-adjusted.

Is this exact for my own field?

No — these are readings taken across Salah Bouchaour, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.

Also worth considering in Salah Bouchaour

Keep going

Timing is one question. What the crop needs at every stage, what attacks it and where to sell it are the others.