Abstract

Groundnut popularly known as peanut is gaining ground in the market as awareness of its nutritive values is being created, hence its production needs to be boosted. A research was carried out to assess the consumption pattern and the impact of fertilizers in boosting groundnut production in Ejigbo Local Government of Osun State.  One hundred and twenty farmers were interviewed with structured questionnaires. The ages of the respondents were categorized as 15 – 30 (60%), 31 – 50 (48%), and 51 years and above (12%). The study showed that 53.3% of the respondents were male while 46.7% were female. All the respondents consume groundnut both in boiled and roasted forms. Only 15% of the respondents use groundnut to prepare soup called gbegiri while 98% eat the groundnut cake known as kulikuli. Ninety-two respondents applied fertilizers out of the one hundred and twenty farmers interviewed. Ninety percent of those who applied fertilizers used NPK15:15:15 fertilizer while ten percent used either urea, muriate of potash or animal dung. The methods used by the farmers in applying fertilizers include broadcasting (52.2%), row (13%), spot (26.1) and foliar (8.7%.).  Ninety-two percent agreed that the use of fertilizers in growing groundnut increase the yield of groundnut while twenty-eight disagreed. Most farmers were not familiar with the use of organomineral fertilizer in increasing groundnut yield. It is concluded that the type and method of fertilizer application influence the yield of groundnut.