Abstract: |
Calcium is one of the most limiting factors for the growth and reproduction of peanut,
which ultimately affects pod and seed yields. A two-year field experiment was carried out to assess
the impact of five calcium applications, including nano-calcium and conventional forms, on growth,
leaf nutrient content, yield traits, and quality parameters of three diverse peanut cultivars (Ismailia-1,
Giza-5, and Giza-6). The applied calcium applications were calcium sulfate, which is recommended
for commercial peanut cultivation and commonly referred to as gypsum (coded as Ca-1), calcium
nitrate (Ca-2), nano-calcium nitrate (Ca-3), 50% calcium nitrate + 50% nano-calcium (Ca-4), and
50% calcium sulfate + 50% nano-calcium (Ca-5). Calcium sulfate (gypsum, Ca-1) was soil-supplied
during the seedbed preparation as recommended, while the other calcium applications (Ca-2, Ca-3,
Ca-4, and Ca-5) were exogenously sprayed three times at 30, 45, and 60 days after sowing. The
soil of the experimental site was alkaline, with a high pH of 8.6. The results revealed significant
differences among cultivars, calcium applications, and their interactions. The soil-supplied gypsum
Ca-1 displayed lower agronomic performance on all recorded growth, leaf nutrient content, yield
traits, and quality parameters. On the other hand, the foliar-supplied calcium, particularly Ca-4
and Ca-5, displayed superior effects compared to the other simple calcium forms. Ca-4 and Ca-5
produced significantly higher seed yield (3.58 and 3.38 t/ha) than the simple recommended form
(Ca-1, 2.34 t/ha). This could be due to the difficulty of calcium uptake from soil-supplied calcium
under high soil pH compared to the exogenously sprayed nano-calcium form. Moreover, the superior
performance of Ca-4 and Ca-5 could be caused by the mixture of fertilizers from the synergistic effect
of calcium and nitrate or sulfate.
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