Effect of Drought and Pluvial Climates on the Production and Stability of Different Types of Peanut Cultivars in Guangdong, China

Abstract

The production and breeding of peanuts was restricted by the frequently extreme climatic conditions in Guangdong province, China. To understand the influence of drought and pluvial climates on peanut traits and yield, a phenotypic investigation of seventy peanut cultivars was conducted from 2018 to 2022; comprehensive field meteorological data collection, and typical drought (2021) and pluvial (2022) climates were recorded. The results revealed that the cultivars achieved the highest single plant pod weight (SPPW) and single plant seed weight (SPSW) of 61.03 g and 45.84 g, respectively, in drought conditions, followed by the control, and finally the pluvial. The SPPW, SPSW and eight agronomy traits exhibited significant differences across the different climatic conditions. Correlation analysis revealed the yield traits and key yield-related traits were positively or negatively correlated with soil water content (SWC), total global radiation (TGR), total precipitation (TP) and total net radiation (TNR). The intermediate and Spanish type cultivars were more stable and productive than the other botanical types of cultivars, commercial varieties exhibited better performance than landraces, and seven cultivars were identified with good production potential, under drought and pluvial conditions. Our study showed that pluvial climate was detrimental to peanut yield, and the SPPW and SPSW were significantly influenced by climates with genotype differences.