Mani Farming - Peanut Production Guide

Mani or Peanut Farming

Mani farming is the growing and harvesting of mani for human consumption. Mani or peanut has the scientific name Arachis hypogaea. Peanut is a legume grown for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics. We will present Philippine peanut production guide this 2017 in this article.

The type of legume peanut or mani is capable of fixing nitrogen from the atmosphere for the plant's own nitrogen needs. Nitrogen is used by plants for synthesizing amino acids as building block to protein for growth. That means mani or peanut is rich in protein compared to other types of vegetables or fruits.

In the agricultural aspect, since peanuts require less nitrogen-containing fertilizer for its farming, peanuts have low nitrogen fertilizer cost.  It will be a good secondary crop since it improves soil fertility, making them valuable in crop rotations. Use 5-10-10 fertilizer that has less nitrogen than other fertilizer composition.

Soil Preparation

Since peanuts are well adapt to the tropical climate, planting peanuts require certain soil types. Peanuts prefer porous soil in which water can easily drain. Sandy or sandy-clay subsoil are recommended. The nut-forming roots will have easier room to grow when the soil is not compact. Plow the land with machinery or carabao's araro (plow) to remove the grass and loosen the soil. This way, grasses will be effectively killed and your peanuts will take advantage of all the available resources for your nut's growth. Clay soils will be challenging for this type of farming. Consider planting a different crop.

Planting the Peanut

Plant the seeds of the peanut with 7-8 inches distance from one another. The peanut plant will grow sideways and will take any available space. To avoid crowding and maximize yield, plant the seeds in this manner. If the soil is wet, it will easily allow the seeds to sprout. It might take 4-5 days before you see the peanut cotyledons come out.

Water the peanuts if the soil is very dry. Apply 5-10-10 fertilizer to the peanut farm. This particular mix has less nitrogen since peanuts don't need much nitrogen from fertilizer.

Harvesting

It will take 100 to 130 days before you can harvest the mani. At harvest time, the sandy soils that the nuts have grown from will not stick to the plant  compared to nuts grown in clay. Since the soil prior planting is already loose and friable, harvesting would be easy.