Canopy Development, Yield, and Market Quality in Peanut as Affected by Genotype and Planting Pattern

Abstract

Planting peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in narrow rows with greater spacing between plants in order to approach a square pattern of plant arrangement can reduce competition and increase growth, especially during juvenility. Thus, this study was designed to assess the effects of planting pattern, genotype, and their interaction on seasonal vegetative growth, fruit growth and development, pod and kernel yields, and market quality. Seven genotypes, ‘Florunner’, ‘Tamnut’, and five experimental lines were used. Planting patterns (interrow × intrarow spacing) of narrow row (0.46 × 0.15 m), row [(0.69−0.23) × 0.15 m], and conventional row (0.91 × 0.08 were each established at 15 plants m−2 (150 000 ha−1) in mid‐April of 1985 and 1986. The soil was an Arreodondo loamy sand (loamy, siliceous, hyperthermic, Grossarenic Paleudult) on The Agronomy Farm located near Gainesville, FL. Plots were 6.1 m long and three rows wide (conventional) or four rows wide (narrow and twin row). Florunner, Tamnut, and line 84‐516 from the seven genotypes were sampled biweekly for growth analysis. Plants in the narrow‐ and twin‐row planting patterns, compared to the conventional, had significantly greater ground cover, leaf area indices, canopy light interception, crop growth rates, and yields of total dry matter, pods, and kernels. Planting pattern had no significant effect (P > 0.05) on market quality. Florunner and Tamnut were superior to the experimental lines in growth and kernel yield. Planting pattern and genotype interaction effects on pod and kernel yields were not significant. We conclude that planting patterns that approach equidistant spacing or a square arrangement can produce higher pod and kernel yields than conventional (wide) rows. Furthermore, either narrow‐ or conventional‐row patterns are suitable for screening or testing genotypes of diverse growth habit and market type.