The Impact of the Sowing Time on Peanuts Yield`s Components in Marginal Sandy Soils in Southern Oltenia, Romania

Abstract

Marginal sandy soils are frequently characterized by low fertility, low organic matter, moderate to high acidity and low cationic exchange capacity, limiting the options of smallholding farmers for various crops. To investigate the impact of the sowing time on grain yield, yield components, protein and oil content of peanuts cultivated in marginal sandy soils in Southern Oltenia, Romania, a bifactorial experiment in a randomized complete block design with three replications was conducted during 2015-2017 at the Research Development Station for Plant Culture on Sands Dăbuleni. The first factor was sowing time (the 25th April as early sowing and the 5th May as late sowing) and the second factor was peanut cultivar (Dăbuleni, Viorica, Viviana). According to the results of the experiment the sowing time had significant impact on the pods number per plant, the production of pods and the grain oil content. Analyzing the interaction between the sowing time and the cultivar there were significant differences only in the pod number per plant in 2015 and the production of pods in 2016. In all peanut’s genotypes studied, early sowing led to higher yields of pods compared to late sowing, probably due to the shortening of the vegetation period of the crop by late sowing on the 5th May, which led also to less dry matter and lower oil content accumulated in peanut grains. Therefore, the results suggested that early sowing time is the most recommended for peanuts growth and quality yield in sandy marginal areas.