Effect of Borohumate and Diatomaceous Earth on Groundnut Growth, Yield and Quality

Abstract

Groundnut is one of the major crops cultivated in coastal areas, often without proper agricultural technology. By improving fertility management, groundnut production can be boosted and sustained. Silicon is a beneficial element whose importance to crops has increased due to extensive research. Furthermore, silicon mitigates salt stress and enhances pest resistance in plants. Boron is an essential nutrient for groundnut, as it plays a crucial role in pod setting and overall growth enhancement. The combined effect of these nutrients has not yet been extensively studied, particularly in groundnut cultivation in coastal areas. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the combined effects of silicon and boron on groundnut grown in coastal soils. The study primarily focuses on key parameters such as growth, yield, and quality of groundnut. To achieve this objective, two field experiments were conducted in coastal village during December, 2020 - March, 2021 and July-October, 2021 using VRI 2 as test crop. The results of the study concluded that application of borohumate (BH) @ 1.5 kg B ha-1 and diatomaceous earth (DE) @ 60 kg Si ha-1 along with recommended dose of NPK recorded the highest growth characters (plant height, number of branches plant-1 and dry matter production), yield characters (number of pods plant-1, 100 pod weight, 100 kernel weight and shelling percentage), quality (protein and oil content) and yield of groundnut.