Why do peanuts experience premature senescence? An analysis of the latest causes
Peanuts hold a similar status in our country to sunflower seeds; both are very common snacks and foods for entertaining guests. However, peanuts are also one of our country's most important oil crops, so their planting area in our country is very extensive. But as the peanut planting time grows longer and longer, the problem of peanut premature senescence becomes more and more serious. Premature senescence can cause all the functional leaves of peanuts in the late stage to wither and fall early, and the stems will also die. So what causes peanut premature senescence? Let's take a look below!
1. Single variety
With a single variety, using the same variety for too long causes its varietal traits to degenerate, and its resistance declines severely or is even lost. Because peanuts are a conventional seed, there is no need to change seeds every year, and peanut seeds are relatively expensive, so many farmers save their own seeds for future use, using the same one for several years without changing. Even if they change seeds, they will not buy in large quantities; they first trial-plant a small amount, then save their own seeds again, and repeat this cycle. Many farmers are like this, planting only one seed for several years, which leads to variety uniformity, with the genetic genes getting worse year by year, and finally completely losing resistance, which will certainly cause peanut premature senescence.
2. Nutrient imbalance
The nutrient ratios in the soil are imbalanced, or topdressing is not done in time in the middle and late stages of planting, especially the lack of trace elements such as calcium. Failure to supplement in time causes the stress resistance of peanuts to decline severely. Although everyone's fertilization of peanuts has improved compared with before, many people still do not fertilize according to the fertilizer requirements of peanuts. They only know that compound fertilizer and urea need to be applied, but basically ignore the application of trace elements. Moreover, many farmers worry that peanuts will grow too vigorously and cause lodging in the late stage, growing only vines and not setting fruit, so they do not apply nitrogen fertilizer, causing severe nutrient deficiency in peanuts, poor growth and premature senescence.
3. Chemical weeding
Many friends use acetochlor to remove weeds, and they use it excessively for a long time, causing peanuts to suffer phytotoxicity at the seedling stage, and root growth and development to be severely hindered. In the later stage, the roots die due to premature senescence. Indeed, acetochlor has solved a major weed control problem for farmers, but it has also brought great side effects to peanut growth. When using it, farmers worry that the dosage is insufficient and that weeds will continue to grow, so they unhesitatingly increase the dosage. Such blind use of chemicals will not only cause peanuts to suffer phytotoxicity, premature senescence and death, but also cause weeds to develop a certain resistance, making it completely ineffective against weeds later.
4. Improper hormone use
Peanuts are a crop that grows relatively vigorously. To prevent excessive growth of peanuts, growers use paclobutrazol to control peanut growth. Although it has a certain effect, paclobutrazol not only controls the growth of stems above ground, but also inhibits the growth of roots and fruits underground. Experiments have shown that compared with peanuts not treated with paclobutrazol, peanuts treated with paclobutrazol to control excessive growth have a higher rate of premature senescence and death. Therefore, when controlling excessive growth of peanuts, it is necessary both to control vigorous growth and to prevent premature senescence in the later stage.
The above are the causes of peanut premature senescence. Peanut premature senescence will seriously affect the yield and quality of peanuts, and ultimately directly affect the economic interests of farmers. It is necessary to choose disease-resistant varieties, pay attention to changing seeds, and not plant the same seed continuously for several years. Balance fertilizers, control the dosage of acetochlor, and also use paclobutrazol scientifically and reasonably, achieving the win-win of controlling vigorous growth and preventing premature senescence. This article is for reference only, and I hope it is helpful to everyone.