Billy Barrow (Agent and CED in Bertie County) and I had a quick text discussion about seed peanuts. Billy has a lot of experience as an agent, employment with Golden Peanut Company, and involvement with NC Crop Improvement and NC Foundation Seed. Based on that discussion, here are some points to consider when harvesting peanuts that will be used as seed for the next season:

1) Growers should prioritize harvesting peanuts grown for seed production as quickly as possible after digging to avoid physical damage.

2) Growers should consider digging seed peanuts well before kernels are over mature with a pod mesocarp color of no more than 25% of pods in the fully black category to avoid physical damage.