Two Sowing and transplanting method effect on peanut (Arachis hypogea L.) growth as affected by different row distance in Rasht

Peanut is one of the most important oilseed plants with indeterminate growth habit, its flowering continue at about 60 to 70 days after emergence, and then flower development will begin to decline. Peanut seed and meal contains a range of 40-50% oil and 30-50% protein on a dry seed basis. A suitable planting method and distance between plant rows can improve photosynthetic process and enhance quantitative and qualitative yield in peanut seed. In the present study, we evaluated the influence of row distance between peanut plant rows and transplanting and sowing method on seed yield and physiological characteristics of peanut new lines under Guilan climatic condition.

In order to evaluate the effect of row distance and planting method effects on important physiological peanut traits includings of plant height, number of second branch per plant, grain yield, number of pods per plant, 100-grain weight, grain number per pod, dry forage yield, biological yield, grain oil and protein content and harvest index in peanut (NC2), two experiments carried out in 2017 and 2018 cropping seasons as split plot based on randomized complete block design with three replications in Rasht (49º 57´ N; 37º 26´ E, and 10 m above sea level), Iran. Three row distances (40, 50 and 60 cm) and two planting methods (transplanting and sowing) comprised experimental treatments as main and sub plots, respectively.

Results showed that the interaction effect between row distances and planting method was significant on some agronomic characteristics such as plant height, number of second branch per plant, grain yield, number of pods per plant, 100-grain weight, grain number per pod, dry forage yield, biological yield and harvest index. Based on the results of this experiment, the transplanting method of peanut plants caused it to accelerate the initial stage of flowering. Maximum grain yield (2978 kg ha-1), number of pods per plant (56.65), dry forage yield (4698 kg ha-1), biological yield (9924 kg ha-1) and harvest index (30.02 %) were obtained at 40 cm row distance and transplanting method. Also, the highest grain number per pod (1.33) was obtained at 60 cm row distance and transplanting method. Maximum 100-grain weight (57.05 g) was observed at 50 cm row distance and sowing method. The results indicated that peanut grain yield enhanced in response to decreasing of planting row distance and transplanting method which could be due to improved solar radiance absorption, enhanced of photosynthetic capacity and optimized uses of unit area. Based on the results of this experiment, 40 cm distance between peanut plant rows and transplanting method could be recommendable to enhance peanut seed yield under the region climatic condition.