Peanut plants produce pegs, a kind of elongated stem, that enter the ground and swell to produce peanuts. Beasley said the temperature has affected peanuts as much or more than the drought. Too much water in the spring kept farmers from planting. Then too little water in the summer has kept the plants from blooming and pegging. The weather from the first of August through October is what will make or break the peanut crop, Beasley said.
Growers hope for warm days and a late frost to keep the crop maturing.
But other factors are complicating the maturity of the crop. Late planting meant the harvest was already delayed. Rain through the last week of July and into early August provided water for peanuts and for weeds, insects and diseases. Worst of all is the white mold we're seeing. Tim Brenneman , a CAES plant pathologist, said white mold is the worst he's seen in the state in five years.