Peanut Fertilization Timing, High-Yield Fertilizers, and Nutrient Requirements During Growth

Peanut is a common crop in rural areas. Though it may seem ordinary, it is rich in nutritional value. Today the editor will discuss when peanuts should generally be fertilized, what fertilizers give high yields, and what the nutrient requirements during their growth are.

1. When should peanuts generally be fertilized? What fertilizers give high yields?

Topdressing for peanuts should be determined according to soil fertility, the amount of base fertilizer applied, and the growth status of the peanuts.

When peanuts lack boron, they produce few flowers and few fruits, and often have shells without kernels; when peanuts lack zinc, small leaves turn yellow; when they lack molybdenum, peanuts form few root nodules, which affects the peanut's demand for nitrogen and affects yield. At the same time, we must overcome the habit of using nitrogen alone. Peanuts need a lot of nitrogen, but this does not mean they need a lot of nitrogen from the soil; rather, they fix a lot of nitrogen from the air through root nodules. Promoting more nodule formation in peanuts is how to obtain high yields. Hence the farming saying “peanuts like poor manure,” which is not without reason.

This requires that when fertilizing peanuts, we must not apply too much nitrogen fertilizer, and at the same time we must apply large amounts of organic fertilizer, medium and trace element fertilizers, phosphorus, potassium, and various active bacterial fertilizers, to create a high-yield soil body that is “loose, soft, fertile, and alive” for peanut growth. Only then can the peanut's demand for high yield and high quality be met. Zhengfangxiang organic microbial coated pure fertilizer combines nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium inorganic fertilizer, humic acid organic fertilizer, medium and trace element fertilizer, and multifunctional compound microbial bacterial fertilizer in one, with four effects in one, intelligent regulation, and slow-release long-lasting effects. It promotes more nodule formation and less disease in peanuts, and especially has killing and inhibitory effects on pathogens such as peanut root rot, crown rot, southern blight, and leaf spot, and also has a very good killing effect on underground pests such as white grubs and nematodes.

2. What are the nutrient requirements during peanut growth?

Peanut is a crop relatively rich in oil and protein. Normal growth and development require multiple elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, zinc, copper, iron, and manganese, among which nitrogen is needed the most. Peanuts also have nitrogen-fixing ability, but before root nodules form at the seedling stage they cannot fix nitrogen, so nitrogen fertilizer should be supplied abundantly at the seedling stage to promote seedling growth. Phosphorus fertilizer can promote peanut maturity, plump kernels, and a higher pod-setting rate. The absorption of potassium fertilizer is very large. Potassium promotes the growth of stems and vines, shells, and kernels, and in sandy soil with poor fertilizer retention, increasing potassium fertilizer has an obvious effect. Other elements can be applied as needed according to the soil nutrient supply status, targeting whatever is deficient.

Peanuts have a very strong ability to absorb fertilizer. In addition to the root system, the pegs, young pods, and leaves also directly absorb nutrients. The fertilizer requirements differ at each growth and development stage. At the seedling stage, the amount of nutrients needed is relatively small, and the absorption of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium accounts for only about 5% of the total absorbed in the whole life. At the flowering stage, the amount of nutrients absorbed increases sharply, with nitrogen absorption accounting for 17% of the total absorbed in the whole life, phosphorus 22.6%, and potassium 22.3%; the pod-setting stage is the most vigorous period of vegetative growth and reproductive growth in peanuts, when large numbers of pods form, and it is also the period of greatest nutrient absorption, with nitrogen absorption accounting for 42% of the total absorbed in the whole life, phosphorus 46%, and potassium 60%; during the full-pod maturity stage, the ability to absorb nutrients gradually weakens, with nitrogen absorption accounting for 28% of the total in the whole life, phosphorus 22%, and potassium 7%. Peanuts are relatively sensitive to the trace elements boron, molybdenum, and iron, and iron deficiency yellowing is more likely to occur in soil with more calcium carbonate and higher pH.