High-Yield Peanut Cultivation Management and Chemical Growth Regulation Agent Selection Methods

Peanut is an important oilseed crop in China and an annual herbaceous plant. As corn purchase prices have declined in recent years, the peanut planting area has also been continuously expanding. So how should peanuts be managed to achieve high yields? Which chemical growth regulation agents are better?

I. High-Yield Peanut Management Techniques

1. Soil preparation: Before planting the crop, plow deeply once with a moldboard plow to a depth of 30-35 cm, rather than simply rotary tilling with a rotary tiller to only about 15 cm. Before plowing, broadcast approximately 40 kg of "Plant Challenge King" compound microbial fertilizer.

2. Seed treatment: Before planting, sun-dry peanut seeds on the ground for 1-2 days (not on a concrete surface) to improve embryo quality. Before sowing, treat seeds with a seed dressing agent to improve emergence rate and uniformity, laying the foundation for high yield.

3. Fertilizer selection: When applying starter fertilizer at sowing, choose a formula with medium nitrogen, high phosphorus, and high potassium. When selecting fertilizers, choose chlorine-based or sulfur-based fertilizers according to soil conditions.

4. Sowing requirements: When sowing, large peanuts require a depth of 5 cm, with an average daily soil temperature stable above 14°C; small peanuts require stable above 12°C. At sowing, the relative soil moisture content should ideally be 70%-75%, meaning the soil in the plow layer can be formed into a ball when squeezed by hand and crumbles relatively loosely when rubbed. If moisture is insufficient, irrigate promptly to create adequate moisture before sowing, to ensure full and strong seedlings.

5. Seedling stage management: Promptly break the film, ventilate, check for and fill in gaps with seedlings. After emergence, apply the first round of the "Jinbanke" high-yield peanut package to improve seedling quality and promote leaf and root growth.

6. Mid-stage management: During the flowering and podding stage, build up ridges, water according to soil moisture conditions, and simultaneously apply the second round of the "Jinbanke" high-yield peanut package combined with prevention and treatment of sheath blight and leaf spot disease, to control excessive vegetative growth, promote peg penetration, and prevent diseases.

7. Pre-harvest management: During the full pod stage, promptly apply the third round of the "Jinbanke" high-yield peanut package to reduce empty pod occurrence and increase yield. Water and drain promptly according to soil moisture conditions.

8. Harvest requirements: Harvest when the main stem has 3-4 compound leaves remaining, more than 70% of underground pods have hardened shells with clear reticulation, and the inner shell wall shows greenish-brown patches. After harvest, dry promptly in the sun, reducing pod moisture content to below 8% within 1 week. At harvest, also collect residual plastic film to achieve clean soil and clean film, preventing residual film pollution of soil, environment, and forage.

II. Which Chemical Growth Regulation Agents Are Used for Peanuts?

Chemical growth regulation of peanuts has always been a concern for many growers. Reasonable chemical regulation can not only enhance peanut lodging resistance but also increase peanut yield. Paclobutrazol and chlormequat are the most commonly used chemical regulation agents. Personally, I think paclobutrazol has better effects, but chlormequat is safer.

1. Chlormequat

First, let's look at chlormequat.

Simply put, chlormequat is a plant growth regulator that can regulate plant growth. Chlormequat is a low-toxicity plant growth regulator with relatively little harm to the environment and the peanut plant itself. Chlormequat works by delaying cell elongation, causing plant dwarfing, making plant stems thicker, promoting lateral growth, and inhibiting upward growth.

It increases chlorophyll content in plant leaves, making leaf color more dark green. It increases plant lodging resistance and stimulates reproductive growth, that is, the growth of flowers and fruits. It can also improve plant resistance, such as drought resistance, waterlogging resistance, and disease resistance. In addition, chlormequat can be degraded by soil enzymes, so environmental pollution is very low, and the impact on subsequent crops is minimal.

Additionally, chlormequat is miscible with water, so the chlormequat we purchase is generally in aqueous solution form. Chlormequat has multiple application methods: it can be sprayed, used for seed soaking, and applied through irrigation.

Seeing so many advantages of chlormequat, don't you think choosing chlormequat is quite good? Of course, chlormequat is not perfect. Chlormequat inhibits cell elongation during peanut chemical regulation, but it does not affect cell division, so although phytotoxicity to the plant is relatively low, its effectiveness is also somewhat limited. Under the same conditions, paclobutrazol's effects will be more pronounced.

2. Paclobutrazol

Paclobutrazol belongs to the triazole class of plant growth regulators. As a chemical regulation agent, paclobutrazol also has the effect of inhibiting plant growth, can shorten internodes, promote flower and leaf differentiation in peanuts, and increase peanut stress resistance. It reduces excessive vegetative growth, increases lodging resistance, and increases peanut yield. The paclobutrazol we purchase is generally in suspension concentrate form because it is not soluble in water. Also, paclobutrazol's application methods are not as diverse as chlormequat's; we generally use the spraying method.

The obvious difference from chlormequat is that paclobutrazol can reduce peanut cell division, while chlormequat as mentioned above can only inhibit cell elongation. From this perspective, paclobutrazol's effects are clearly more powerful. Additionally, paclobutrazol has stronger fungicidal properties, making it more suitable for use on peanuts.

However, the disadvantage of paclobutrazol is that although its effects are more pronounced, it easily causes phytotoxicity to peanuts, and if the dosage is not well controlled, it can very easily affect the growth of subsequent crops.

So each has its pros and cons. Growers still need to make reasonable choices based on their own peanut conditions. If you want more pronounced effects, use paclobutrazol; if you want safety, use chlormequat. Another point is that the timing of peanut chemical regulation must be well controlled, generally most suitable during the period when a large number of pegs are penetrating into the soil.