How to Fertilize Peanuts for High Yields? A Detailed Practical Guide

Peanutis an important cash crop. When fertilizing, the principle should be organic fertilizer as the mainstay, inorganic fertilizer as a supplement, and combining organic with inorganic fertilizers, achieving stable and high yields through balanced fertilization and topdressing. The specific fertilization techniques are as follows:

Apply sufficient base fertilizer. The base fertilizer amount accounts for 80%-90% of the total fertilization. Some peanut fields only need sufficient base fertilizer, and even with little or no fertilizer applied later, they can still achieve high yields, which shows the importance of base fertilizer. Generally, apply 2000 kg of decomposed high-quality farm animal manure per mu, 15-20 kg of diammonium phosphate, or 40-50 kg of superphosphate, 5-7.5 kg of potassium chloride, 4-5 kg of urea. Phosphorus fertilizer is best applied after mixing and composting with organic fertilizer at a ratio of 0.5%-1%, which helps improve fertilizer efficiency. For some alkaline soils, 15-25 kg of gypsum can be applied. For molybdenum fertilizer, 10-20 g of ammonium molybdate or a 0.1%-0.2% solution can be used to soak seeds for 3-5 hours, then dried before sowing. Gypsum or lime can be broadcast as base fertilizer when plowing.

Skillfully apply topdressing. First, lightly apply seedling fertilizer. Peanut seedling fertilizer can promote early growth, strong seedlings, and more branches, resulting in more flowers and pods and increased yield. Nutrient demand at the seedling stage is relatively low, but if base fertilizer is insufficient or not applied, quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer should be properly topdressed to promote seedling growth and flower bud differentiation. Before flowering, apply 3-4 kg of urea per mu, or 250-300 kg of decomposed human and animal manure urine water fertilizer, mixed with increased phosphorus and potassium fertilizer and sprinkled on. Second, apply flower-needle fertilizer. The flower-needle stage requires more nutrients, and its role is to promote more flowering, more pegging, and more pod setting in peanuts. Generally, topdress 4-5 kg of urea, 6-7 kg of diammonium phosphate, 5-6 kg of potassium sulfate per mu, or 50-75 kg of plant ash. If the pegging and pod-setting stage shows weak growth, 100-250 g of urea can be added during foliar topdressing and sprayed together. Third, skillfully apply pod-setting fertilizer. The pod-setting stage is the period of greatest nutrient demand and also the critical period for promoting dry matter accumulation and the development of pegs and pods. Before the rows close, topdress 4-5 kg of diammonium phosphate and 6-8 kg of superphosphate per mu. For those who have not applied boron or zinc fertilizer, 2-3 sprays of 0.1%-0.2% zinc sulfate or borax aqueous solution can be applied during pod-setting fertilization. In the late growth stage of peanuts, since the plants have already closed rows, it is not suitable to apply fertilizer to the soil, but for those showing signs of nutrient deficiency, a 1%-2% urea solution can be used for foliar spraying to improve seed-setting rate and plump pods.

Increase calcium fertilizer application. Calcium can promote pod formation, reduce empty pods, and increase the number of filled pods. When using lime as topdressing, it can be applied shallowly in the pod-setting zone of peanut plants at the early flowering stage combined with intertillage and hilling, generally 5-8 kg per mu, or 7.5-10 kg of calcium sulfate per mu.

Apply bacterial fertilizer. Artificial inoculation with peanut rhizobia can promote early and increased nodulation in peanuts and improve the nitrogen-fixing capacity of plants. The peanut rhizobium agent (rhizobium fertilizer) currently promoted in production is generally used at 25 g per mu. When using, add an appropriate amount of water to make a paste and mix thoroughly with seeds. Note to mix and sow immediately, prevent sun exposure, and do not mix or come into contact with fungicides.