Description
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction.
Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important food and feed crop, which also
serves as a component in many tropical countries (Gowda &Singh, 2006).
Groundnut is an important subsistence food crop throughout the tropics. It is
mainly grown for the kernels and the edible oil and meal derived from them, and
the vegetative residue. Groundnut is one of the most important cash crops in West
Africa. Groundnut kernels typically contain 47-53% oil and 25-36% protein; they
also contain about 10-15% carbohydrate and are rich in P; they are also a good
source of vitamins B and E (Saini et al., 2015).
The major groundnut producing countries in the world include India, China,
America, the Gambia and Malaysia while leading producing countries in Africa
include Nigeria, Senegal, Niger and Sudan (Tweneboah, 2000). Developing
countries account for 97% of the world’s groundnut area and 94% of the total
production (FAOSTAT, 2010).