Plant growth habit and nitrogen fertilizer effects on rhizoma peanut biomass partitioning during establishment

• Published in: Grass and forage science Vol. 76; no. 4; pp. 485 - 493
• Main Authors: Aryal, Parmeshwor, Sollenberger, Lynn E., Kohmann, Marta M., Silva, Liliane S., Cooley, Katie D., Dubeux, Jose C.B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.12.2021
• Subjects: Aquatic plants; Arachis glabrata; Biomass; biomass partitioning; Cultivars; establishment; Fertilization; Fertilizer application; Field tests; Genotypes; Germplasm; Growth patterns; Leaf area; Leaf area index; Leaves; Legumes; N fertilization; Nitrogen; Partitioning; Peanuts; Plant growth; Planting; Propagation; Rhizomes
• ISSN: 0142-5242; 1365-2494
• DOI: 10.1111/gfs.12519

Rhizoma peanut (RP; Arachis glabrata Benth.) is an important perennial forage legume in the US Gulf Coast region, but propagation using rhizomes and prolonged establishment periods limit its adoption. Genotypes and management practices that hasten establishment are needed. Our objective was to determine the effects of RP growth habit and nitrogen (N) fertilizer application during shoot emergence on biomass partitioning and measures of establishment success during the year‐of‐ and year‐after‐planting. Field experiments were conducted during 2016 through 2018. Treatments were the factorial combinations of two RP entries differing in growth habit (decumbent germplasm Ecoturf and upright cultivar ‘UF Tito’) and three N rates (0, 40, and 80 kg/ha applied 10 weeks after planting [WAP]) arranged in four replications of a randomized complete block design. Upright UF Tito had greater shoot (194 vs. 125 g/m2) and root‐rhizome biomass (249 vs. 111 g/m2) than decumbent Ecoturf at the end of the year of planting. Early growth patterns explained this response in part, as UF Tito had greater leaf area index (LAI; 0.58 vs. 0.39) and lesser root‐rhizome: shoot ratio (0.62 vs. 0.77) than Ecoturf at 20 WAP. Nitrogen fertilization had minimal effects on shoot biomass, and it did not affect root‐rhizome biomass. The entry effect on establishment performance persisted through the year after planting with UF Tito outperforming Ecoturf. Use of an RP genotype that prioritized leaf area and shoot versus root‐rhizome biomass during early growth was more important than N fertilization in expediting RP establishment.