Salt stress and potassium fertilization on the agronomic performance of peanut crop

Abstract

In semi-arid regions, the use of brackish water for irrigation can reduce crop yields. However, the use of mineral fertilizer has been tested to mitigate salt stress. In this context, the objective was to evaluate the effect of salt stress at different phenological stages on the yield of peanut under potassium fertilization. The experiment was carried out from August to November 2021, in the experimental area of the Universidade da Integração da Lusofonia Afro-Brasileira (UNILAB), Redenção, Ceará, Brazil. The experimental design was completely randomized (CRD), in a 6 × 3 factorial scheme, with 6 replicates. Six strategies of irrigation with brackish water were applied from the following stages: vegetative (S1); flowering (S2); gynophore appearance (S3); pod formation (S4); fruiting (S5) and without salt stress (S6), and three doses of potassium: 0, 50 and 100% of the recommended dose. The use of brackish water in the vegetative stage led to lower pod length, pod mass, number of pods, number of marketable pods and yield. The dose corresponding to 100% of the recommended potassium dose mitigated salt stress in the pod formation and flowering stages, promoting a greater number of marketable pods, number of non-marketable pods, total number of pods and pod mass. The use of water with lower salinity throughout the cycle promoted greater pod mass, number of marketable pods and yield.