Field experiments were carried out during the crop growing seasons of 1989/90 and 1990/91 in Adamantina, State of São Paulo, Brazil. The objective was to study the influence of sowing time on growth, yield and other agronomic yield characters of four peanut cultivars under the agroecological conditions of the Alta Paulista. The study used a split-plot experimental design with six randomized blocks. The main plots were sowing times whereas the subplots were the cultivars IAC-Oirã, IAC-Poitara, IAC-Tupã and Tatu. Decrease in dry matter yield, pod number and yield per plant were observed in all cultivars, from the first to the last sowing date, i.e., from September /October through March, respectively. The experimental results were related to the air temperature. The greatest pod yields were achieved when peanuts were sowed between late September and October. The cultivars IAC-Oirã, IAC-Poitara and IAC-Tupã showed greater pod number and dry matter yield per plant than the cv. Tatu.
peanut; cultivars; sowing times; yield; growth; agronomic yield characters
