Leonard Lauriault, Aaron Scott, and Naveen Puppala. New Mexico State Univ, ASC at Tucumcari, Tucumcari, NM
Valencia peanut, an important crop for eastern New Mexico and west Texas, is generally sold inshell. Valencia peanuts also produce a large amount of forage and can be utilized as a dual-purpose crop. In west Texas, peanut forage is mainly contracted to the dairy industry after pods are harvested. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of forage harvests prior to pod harvest on pod yield, kernel quality, and hay yield and quality of Valencia peanut. The test was a randomized complete block design with three replications. Treatments were forage harvest date until 21 October, when all previously harvested plots also were dug for pod yields. Subsequent treatments included digging on 28 October with a Noble blade and leaving forage and pods at the soil surface until 5 November, which is typical field drying, and digging after the first and second freezes (18 November and 3 December, respectively). Differences (P < 0.05) existed for all variables except calcium (Ca). Preliminary results indicate that the most optimum compromise between pod and forage yield and maximizing forage nutritive value was harvesting forage approximately 2 weeks (10/7) before digging the pods. The Ca:P ratio was generally in excess of 7:1, which is the upper recommended limit for ruminants. For non-ruminants, the Ca:P ratio should be 1:1 or 2:1. Pod yield was unaffected by later harvest dates; however, kernel quality was reduced compared to the optimum date of harvest resulting in off flavor as were forage yield and nutritive value . Future research will include earlier forage harvests, centered around pod formation (60, 74 and 88 dap) and pod digging (14 d before, immediately before, and after typical field drying and pod harvesting).
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