Abstract
ABSTRACT Pulse irrigation may be more advantageous for peanut crops than continuous irrigation, when using brackish water. However, studies on pulse irrigation with brackish water considering the environmental conditions of the Northeast region of Brazil using are incipient. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of using brackish water for pulse and continuous dripping irrigations on the grain yield and production characteristics of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) crops. A completely randomized block design with four repetitions was used, in a 6*2 factorial arrangement consisted of six electrical conductivities of the irrigation water (EC; 0.2, 1.6, 2.8, 4.0, 5.2, and 6.4 dS m-1) set by adding NaCl to the irrigation water, which originally had 0.2 dS m-1, until reaching the respective EC; and two irrigation methods (pulse and continuous). The evaluated variables were fresh and dry weights of shoot, 10 grains, pods, grains, and production; number of pods and grains; and percentages of empty pods (EP%) and perfect grains (PG%). The addition of salt to the irrigation water negatively affected all variables studied, except for EP% and PG%. The lowest EP% were found for the pulse irrigation, which increased the pod and grain yields, regardless of the EC of the irrigation water. Under the conditions of the present study, the use of brackish waters with electrical conductivities of up to 2.98 dS m-1 is viable for peanut production.
Highlights
Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is the fourth most grown oilseed species in the world due to its high oil, protein, fiber, and vitamin contents
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of using brackish water for pulse and continuous dripping irrigations on the grain yield and production characteristics of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) crops
The peanut cultivar BR-1 is an early maturation variety launched in 1994, with average cycle of 90 days. It belongs to the subspecies A. hypogaea fastigiata and presents good adaptation to the climate of the Semiarid region of Brazil (GRACIANO et al, 2011). This cultivar is recommended for crops intended to fresh consumption and has productive potentials of 3.8 Mg ha-1 under irrigated systems, and 1.7 Mg ha-1 under rainfed conditions; the grains present oil and protein contents of 45% and 38%, respectively (EMBRAPA, 2009)
Summary
Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is the fourth most grown oilseed species in the world due to its high oil, protein, fiber, and vitamin contents. The Northeastern region has a demand of 50,000 Mg of peanuts (pods) per year and is the second largest consumer region in the country, but presented a production of only 2,000 Mg in the 2018/2019 crop season and a yield of 0.892 Mg ha-1 (CONAB, 2020). These production results in this region may be due to the growth methods used, which are usually in rainfed systems; they are aggravated by the irregular rainfall distribution, which compromises the production and, the economic success of the activity (SIZENANDO et al, 2016). Some irrigation systems promote water use efficiency, such as dripping irrigation, preventing water loss (EID; BAKRY; TAHA, 2013); the use of complementary measures to improve water use efficiency is necessary, mainly for areas with natural severe water shortage (BORGES; SILVA, 2011)
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