Effetts of irrigation, fertilization and mechanical harvesting on yield performances of peanut (Arachis Hypogaea L.) Grown in southern Italy

In the Italian market the request for peanuts is now entirely imported from Israel, Egypt and the United States of America. The Italian and European consumption of peanuts is ensured exclusively by its import, as the cultivation, once widespread also in Italy, has been abandoned since the 1970s due to the lack of competitiveness with the productions of other countries. The reintroduction in Italy of the peanut production chain would allow a reduction in imports from abroad and offer the market a completely "Made in Italy" product, so as to open new competitive scenarios on the local, national and international market. The evaluation of a possible re-insertion of a crop cannot be separated from a careful analysis of the benefits in agronomic and in economic terms. The Italian peanut supply chain is limited to the processing, packaging and marketing phases and most of the Italian industries involved in the processing and marketing phases are located in Campania, in the province of Naples, where there is a real and its own industrial district.