What causes premature aging in peanuts?
Peanuts hold a position in China similar to sunflower seeds - both are very common snacks and foods for entertaining guests. However, peanuts are also one of China's most important oil crops, so they are grown over a very wide area in the country. But as peanut cultivation continues year after year, the problem of premature aging in peanuts has become increasingly serious. Premature aging can cause all the functional leaves of peanuts to wither and drop early in the late stage, and the stems also die off. So what causes premature aging in peanuts? Let's take a look below!
1. Single variety
A single variety used for too long leads to degeneration of its varietal characteristics and a serious decline or even complete loss of resistance. Because peanuts are a conventional seed crop, 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 seeds for several years without switching. Even when they do change seeds, they do not buy in large quantities - they first trial-plant a small amount, then save their own seeds, and repeat the cycle. Many farmers do this, growing only one seed variety for years, resulting in varietal uniformity, with genetic quality declining year by year until resistance is completely lost, which inevitably causes premature aging in peanuts.
2. Nutrient imbalance
An imbalanced nutrient ratio in the soil, or failure to apply timely topdressing in the mid-to-late growth period - especially a deficiency of trace elements such as calcium - and failure to replenish them in time, leads to a serious reduction in the stress resistance of peanuts. Although fertilization of peanuts has improved compared to before, many people still do not fertilize according to the nutrient requirements of peanuts. They only know that compound fertilizer and urea are needed, but basically ignore the application of trace elements. Moreover, many farmers worry that excessive peanut growth will cause lodging in the late stage, with only vines growing and no pods forming, so they do not apply nitrogen fertilizer, causing severe nutrient deficiency, poor growth and premature aging in peanuts.
3. Chemical weed control
Many people use acetochlor to control weeds, and they use it excessively over the long term, causing peanuts to suffer herbicide damage at the seedling stage, with root growth and development seriously hindered. In the late stage, the plants die due to premature root aging. 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 weeds will continue to grow, so they unhesitatingly increase the dosage. Such blind use of chemicals not only causes peanuts to suffer herbicide damage, premature aging and death, but also causes weeds to develop some resistance, making it completely ineffective against weeds later on.
4. Improper hormone use
Peanuts are a crop that grows relatively vigorously. To prevent excessive growth, growers use paclobutrazol to control peanut growth, and although it has some effect, paclobutrazol not only controls the growth of stems and stalks above ground but also inhibits the growth of roots and pods below ground. Experiments have shown that peanuts treated with paclobutrazol to control excessive growth have a higher rate of premature aging and death compared to peanuts not treated with paclobutrazol. Therefore, when controlling excessive growth in peanuts, it is necessary to both control the vigorous growth and prevent premature aging in the late stage.
The above are the causes of premature aging in peanuts. Premature aging in peanuts seriously affects the yield and quality of peanuts, ultimately directly impacting the economic interests of farmers. It is necessary to choose disease-resistant varieties, pay attention to seed replacement, and not grow the same seed continuously for several years. Balance fertilizers, control the dosage of acetochlor, and also use paclobutrazol scientifically and reasonably to achieve the win-win of controlling vigorous growth while preventing premature aging. This article is for reference only, and I hope it is helpful to everyone.