A semi-controlled environment study was conducted from May to September 1996 in Wageningen, The Netherlands, to investigate the interaction between growth and development in bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea) and the influence of photoperiod on dry matter partitioning. The experimental design was a split-plot with four photoperiods (10·5, 11·8, 13·2 and 14·5 h/d) and two light treatments: unshaded and shaded (42% light reduction). The selection used was ‘DipC94’ from Botswana. The dates of 50% flowering and 50% podding were determined, and samples of plants were harvested at 22, 36, 50, 64, 78, 92, 106 and 120 days after sowing. Total dry matter production was 41% lower in the shaded treatment than in the unshaded treatment, but the rates of progress from sowing to flowering and flowering to podding decreased by only 3 and 12% respectively. This suggests that growth and development in bambara groundnut are largely independent. Photoperiod influenced dry matter partitioning indirectly, through its influence on the onset of podding. There were, however, no strong direct photoperiod effects on dry matter partitioning, either before or after the onset of podding.