Enhancing Peanut (Arachis hypogaea) Productivity and Biochemical Traits: A Comparison of Straw Mulch and Polythene Mulch Under Prolonged Salinity Stress

Abstract

The escalating population growth has spurred a demand for increased oilseed production, necessitating urgent attention. However, the expansion of saline-affected regions posed a significant obstacle to maintain peanut productivity in these areas. Thus, to tackle the productivity decline in saline-affected regions, we investigated whether substituting polythene mulch with straw mulch, as part of an agronomic management strategy, could mitigate the rapid decrease in peanut productivity. Three mulching methods (control, polythene mulch and straw mulch) were employed to cultivate the crop (cv. TG 37A) under salinity levels of 0.5, 2, 4 and 6 dS m⁻¹. As salinity levels increased, there was a notable decrease in germination percentage, growth, yield and biochemical characteristics, including pod and haulm yields were reported. Despite salinity reduced free amino acids and oil content, it exhibited significant increase in protein and sugar content. Saline irrigation water led to a reduction in pod yield, haulm yield and oil content by 24.67%, 23.84% and 5.07%, respectively, at a salinity level of 6.0 dS m⁻¹ compared to the control with 0.5 dS m⁻¹ salinity. Moreover, straw mulching resulted in a boost in pod yield, haulm yield and oil content by 30.09%, 4.83% and 1.75%, respectively, compared to the control. The reduction in pod yield and oil content under the interaction of mulching and salinity was 46.44% and 6.87% at M₀S₆, 21.42% and 4.44% at M₁S₆, and 7.55% and 3.87% at M₂S₆ compared to M₀S₀, M₁S₀ and M₂S₀, respectively. A similar trend was also observed in 100-pod weight, 100-kernel weight and shelling percentage. Accordingly, it was concluded that the declining trend in all attributes under straw mulching at various salinity levels surpassed polythene mulching, ensuring superior peanut production under salinity stress conditions.