How to do a good job in fertilization, waterlogging prevention, and pest and disease control during the peanut full-pod stage

    1. Foliar fertilizer spraying. After peanuts enter the full-pod stage, the root system ages, nutrient uptake capacity declines, and the nitrogen fixation and nitrogen supply capacity of root nodules weakens, causing early leaf drop. In the late stage of peanuts, the foliar absorption capacity increases. Timely and repeated foliar fertilizer spraying can effectively supplement nutrients and delay leaf drop, with many advantages such as rapid action, high absorption and utilization rate, low input, and large returns. For the type of fertilizer sprayed, it is best to choose foliar fertilizers with relatively high phosphorus and calcium content.  

Late-stage management of peanuts

    2. For fields that have not previously been sprayed with growth regulators or where the effect of already applied growth regulators is not obvious, spray once more with a 800-1200 times dilution of “Zhuangbao'an” (be careful not to spray it onto the ground). This can noticeably thicken peanut leaves, deepen leaf color, delay leaf drop, accelerate peanut pod expansion and filling, and enhance drought resistance and waterlogging tolerance, while alleviating premature senescence caused by spraying paclobutrazol and growth regulators containing this ingredient.  

    3. Spray fungicides. Leaf spot disease, especially net blotch and brown spot, is one of the main causes of early leaf drop in peanuts. Once it occurs, it spreads rapidly, often causing a large number of leaves to fall within a few days and resulting in yield reduction. Combined with foliar fertilizer spraying, adding broad-spectrum fungicides such as “mancozeb” or “thiophanate-methyl” can greatly reduce the damage and delay leaf drop. Carbendazim and fungicides with carbendazim as the main ingredient have poor efficacy.

    4. Spray insecticides. The main pests harming peanut leaves in the late stage are leaf-feeding pests such as cotton bollworm and bridge-forming caterpillar, and leaf mites (red spider mites), among others. The former is prone to causing damage under conditions of high temperature, abundant rain, and high humidity, while the latter occurs under dry climate conditions. Attention should be paid to inspection, and insecticides and acaricides should be sprayed for control at the young larval stage and when spotting occurs. For underground pests such as white grubs, wireworms, and ants, on the basis of previous control, if inspection shows that larvae or damage symptoms still remain in the soil layer, spread a dose of quick-acting soil insecticide fertilizer powder again or drench the plant hills with methyl isothiophos.

    5. Drainage and waterlogging prevention. There is more rainfall in the late stage. Water accumulation in the field and excessive perched water in the soil plow layer are also one of the causes of early leaf drop in peanuts. In severe cases, they may also cause rotten pods and yield loss. Field accumulated water and perched water in the plow layer should be removed in a timely manner. In addition, when most leaves have fallen, the top leaves and stems and branches have turned yellow, and most pods are full, harvest should be carried out promptly. If harvest is delayed, more pods will drop, yield will decrease, and quality will deteriorate.