Effects of Plant Density and Planting Pattern on Growth and Seed Yield of Groundnuts [Arachis hypogaea (l.)] in the Wet Middleveld of Eswatini

Abstract

The most appropriate plant density and planting pattern to use for optimum growth and yield of groundnuts (Arachis hypogaea L.) in Eswatini among those currently used is not known, as the patterns are highly influenced by environmental conditions in specific regions. A field trial was conducted with the objective of determining the optimum plant density and planting pattern for groundnut in the Wet Middleveld of Eswatini. The experiment was conducted at the University of Eswatini, Luyengo Campus during the 2018/2019 cropping. The treatments consisted of three planting densities (i.e. 88,889 plants/ha, 44,444 plants/ha, and 29,630 plants/ha) and two planting patterns (i.e. Ridges and Raisedbeds) in a split plot arrangement. Results showed that all the measured parameters including seed yield were not significantly different in all treatments. However, the highest seed yield was obtained at low plant density which was 71.4 kg/ha followed by 568 kg/ha at medium and the least was 434 kg/ha at high plant density. The high plant density (88889 plants/ha) obtained the highest value of dry biomass (13018 kg/ha) at ridges which was higher than 3859 kg/ha obtained at the low plant density (29630 plants/ha) at raised beds at R6 growth stage. The ridges at the intermediate plant density (44444 plants per hectare) obtained the highest shelling percentage of 59.67% while the lowest (56%) shelling percentage was obtained at raised beds at 88889 plants per hectare. It is concluded that groundnuts at raised beds with low plant density yielded higher than those at ridges with high plant density. It is therefore, recommended that groundnuts be planted at raised beds with low plant density to increase groundnut production and for ease of harvesting.

Effects of Plant Density and Row Spacing on Yield and Yield Components of Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) on the Coastal Sandy Land Area in Nghe An Province, Vietnam

“…The data showed no significant difference in the interaction between plant density and row spacing for the 100-pods weight, 100-seeds weight. This outcome is consistent with the findings of Magagula et al (2019). In general, with increased plant density, the 100-pods weight and 100-seeds weight decreased; this might be due to the plants' wider spacing (Konlan et al, 2013).…”

“…Our results are also consistent with previous studies; Rasekh et al (2010) found that LAI was also significantly influenced by the plant density during different growth stages. Magagula et al (2019) observed that the highest LAI value was 4.63-4.93, which declined to 1.93-2.47 as maturity. Effects of Plant Density and Row Spacing on Yield and Yield Components of Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) on the Coastal Sandy...…”

“…The differences in dry matter production among the treatments are small (Table 3). The difference in dry mass might be due to crop growth resources are efficiently used at higher plant densities and resulted in higher dry matter accumulation at optimum plant densities (Magagula et al 2019). The amount of solar radiation obstructed into the canopy depends on the plant density as higher plant densities increase the canopy closure rate and increase interception of photosynthetically active radiation needed for carbohydrate production and higher biomass in the plants (Mckenzie et al, 1992).…”

Effect of Mulching on Growth and Yield of Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) on the Coastal Sandy Land in Nghe An Province, Vietnam

“…LAI increased and was maximum during the pod formation period and decreased during harvest. Magagula et al (2019) observed that the highest LAI value was 4.63-4.93, which declined to 1.93-2.47 as maturity. Our results are also consistent with previous studies (Zhang et al, 2012;Jain et al, 2018;Mondal et al, 2020).…”

Effect of Different Cultural Treatments on Branching and Yield of Groundnut (Arachis hypogea L.)

“…According to the observations taken during the systematic conduction of the experiment with good maintenance of the experimental plots, we have concluded that as the branching of groundnut increases, the yield also increases, respectively. However, the extent of increase in yield and branching varies for different treatments and those differences in the yield obtained were given below: The number of branches led to an increase in yield based on different types of treatments in different experiments were reported in findings of Shashidhar VR, et al [3], Gowthami V, et al [4], Nigam SN, et al [5], Ali FM, et al [6], Avinasha BL, et al [7], Nagar R, et al [8], Oppong SD, et al [9], Thilini SPLNK, et al [10], Gawas D, et al [11], Magagula N, et al [12], Sathiya K, et al [13], Mohanty P, et al [14], Ibrahim II, et al [15], Yilmaz M, et al [16], Iddrisu A, et al [17], Singh N, et al [18], El Naim AM, et al [19], Seijo G, et al [20], Maleki SJ, et al [21], Michael CY, et al [22], Sanders TH, et al [23,24], Veeramani P, et al [25].…”