Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Soil, Water and environment Research Institute, Agric. Res. Center, Egypt
2
Dr. of Soil fertility and plant nutrition department at Soil, water and environment Res. institute. Giza, Egypt
3
SWERI,ARC,Giza,Egypt
4
Water and Environment Research Institute, Agriculture Research Centre, El-Gama St., Giza, 12619, Egypt
Abstract
Utilizing agricultural drainage water for irrigation purposes poses significant challenges, yet it's an unavoidable necessity driven by water scarcity in Egypt. Lately, the government's focus has shifted towards establishing a self-sustained vegetable oil industry within the country. This involves expanding the cultivation of oil-rich crops under stress conditions, like peanuts, which are a valuable source of oil and beneficial fatty acids. So, a research trial was performed during the seasons of 2022 and 2023 to evaluate the effect of some treatments on the growth performance and productivity of peanuts plants irrigated with agricultural drainage water. The impact of organic fertilizers [T1: Control (without organic fertilizer), T2: Plant compost (banana residues and sugar beet at ratio of 50:50) PC, T3: Farmyard manure compost FYMC, at rate of 10 Mg ha-1 for each one, Mg= million grams or ton] was evaluated as main plots. Also, the foliar application of magnesium (Mg) and selenium (Se) elements [F1: Control, F2: Mg at rate of 840 g ha-1, F3: Mg at rate of 1680 g ha-1, F4: Se at rate of 5.0 mg L-1, F5: Se at rate of 10.0 mg L-1, F6: As a combined treatment (F2 + F4) F7: As a combined treatment (F3 + F4)] was assessed as sub-main plots. The results indicate that the superior organic fertilization treatment for obtaining the highest values of growth performance (e.g., plant height and chlorophyll content) and yield parameters (e.g., seed oil yield and protein yield) was T2 treatment (PC) followed by T3 treatment (FYMC), surpassing the control group (T1). Among the foliar spraying treatments, the combined treatment of magnesium and selenium (F7) demonstrated the highest efficacy in promoting growth and yield, as the order sequence from the most effective to less was F7 (F3 + F4) > F6 (F2 + F4) > F3 > F2 > F4 > F1 (control) > F5. Regarding antioxidant production, the trend of catalase (CAT) looks just like the trend of growth performance. On the contrary, the plants grown without organic fertilizer possessed the highest values of proline, while the lowest values were achieved with PC treatment. Also, spraying of selenium at a rate of 10.0 mg L-1 (F5 treatment) led to the highest content of proline in leaves compared to other foliar treatments and the control group (F1) which came in the second order. Regarding soil properties, both types of compost positively affected soil fertility (N, P, K, CEC), with the superiority of PC. Notably, the combined approach of using plant compost (T2) along with the foliar application of magnesium and selenium (F7) showed the most favorable outcomes in terms of growth performance and both quantitative and qualitative yield of peanut plants. Generally, it is recommended that farmers and agricultural practitioners in Egypt consider adopting the effective combinations of organic fertilization and beneficial foliar treatments identified in this study. By implementing these recommendations, Egypt can enhance its agricultural sustainability, mitigate the challenges posed by water scarcity, and establish a robust and self-sufficient vegetable oil industry.
Keywords
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