Abstract
Studies on crop responses to soil acidity have largely neglected the germination and seedling establishment stages. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of soil acidity, including aluminium per se and acid saturation, on germination, emergence and establishment of groundnut seeds. Germination was carried out on groundnut cultivars Harts, Jasper and Rambo under 0, 50, 100 and 200 μM Al applied as Al2 (SO4)3.18H2O at pH between 4.2 and 4.5. Seedling emergence and establishment were examined in 0, 3 and 6 g of dolomitic lime per kg of soil, representing control, 50% lime requirement and 100% lime requirement, respectively. High Al concentration of 200 μM reduced germination, germination velocity index and seminal root length but had no influence on mean germination time of all groundnut cultivars. There were highly significant differences (P<0.001) in seedling emergence between non-limed and limed soils. Root length and mass were significantly (P<0.05) reduced at high soil acidity but the cultivar Rambo was least susceptible. We conclude that the germination, emergence and establishment stages were negatively affected by high Al levels and acid saturation but the cultivars showed different tolerance levels to high acid saturation, and proper liming can ameliorate the problems associated with these growth stages.
 Key words: acid saturation, aluminium, establishment, peanuts, tolerance
Highlights
Groundnut is an important leguminous crop grown in sub-Saharan Africa for consumption and has high protein and oil contents
The objective of the study was to examine the effect of soil acid saturation, including the role of aluminium, on germination, emergence and seedling establishment of groundnut, and determine whether differences exist between selected cultivars in relation to tolerance to soil acidity
High Al concentrations between 100 and 200 μM, reduced (P
Summary
Groundnut is an important leguminous crop grown in sub-Saharan Africa for consumption and has high protein and oil contents. Studies on crop responses to soil acidity have largely neglected the seedling establishment stage. It is important to understand the effect of acid saturation during the early stages of crop development in order to take necessary measures aimed at improving establishment and, yield. High acid saturation results in aluminium and manganese toxicity which could affect germination or emergence. Examination of responses of different groundnut cultivars at this early stage could help in a quick decision making on cultivar selection when confronted growing the crop on potentially acidic soils. The objective of the study was to examine the effect of soil acid saturation, including the role of aluminium, on germination, emergence and seedling establishment of groundnut, and determine whether differences exist between selected cultivars in relation to tolerance to soil acidity
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