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Two growth chamber experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of defoliation on the growth and development of peanuts. In Experiment one, peanuts (Arachis hypogaea L., cv. Flogiant) were uniformly defoliated by hand at 25, 50, 75 and 100% at the pod or the pod-filling stage. In experiment two, 25 and 75% of the young leaves were removed by hand at the vegetative or the pod-performing stage. Results of these study showed that defoliation lowered the leaf, stem, root, peg and pod masses. The growth stage of the plants determines the variables that would be most affected. The reduction in mass due to defoliation lasted for four to six weeks when defoliation were at the pod-forming or the pod-filling stage and about two to three weeks when 25% of the young leaves were removed at the vegetative stage. Plants defoliated at the 75% level gave greater priority for peg and pod growth than plants defoliated at the 25% level. Defoliated plants have the lighter pods at harvest.
