Effect of phosphorus and sulphur levels on biomass partitioning in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Abstract

Groundnut is an important oilseed crop and belongs to the family Leguminosae. However, the productivity of groundnut in India is less as compared to average productivity of the world. The main cause of low groundnut production is an unbalanced and insufficient usage of nutrients. Because groundnut is a legume-oilseed crop, it has a high phosphorus, calcium, and Sulphur demand. Therefore, this field experiment was conducted during the kharif season of 2021 at crop physiology field lab, Department of Agronomy, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar. The experiment was laid out in split plot design with four phosphorus levels (Control, 40, 50, 60 kg P2O5/ha) in main plots and four Sulphur levels (Control, 25, 50, 75 kg S/ha) in sub-plots with three replications. Result revealed that application of 60 kg P2O5/ha resulted in significantly higher total plant biomass and its partitioning into different plant parts viz, leaves, stem, root and pod at different growth stages in groundnut followed by 50 kg P2O5/ha. Among Sulphur levels application of 75 kg S/ha record higher total biomass and its partitioning at all growth stages followed by 50 kg S/ha. So, to obtain a higher total biomass and its partitioning, the crop may be fertilized with phosphorus and sulphur levels of 50 kg/ha each.