Impact of Cyanobacterial Inoculant on Growth and Productivity of Peanut Plants in Sandy Soil

Abstract

During the summer growing seasons of 2021 and 2022, two field experiments were conducted at Ismailia Agricultural Research Center Station(Latitude 30ᵒ 35′ 41.901″ N and Longitude 32ᵒ 16′ 45. 843″E) to study the effect of cyanobacterial inoculation (Anabaena oryzae (A. oryzae) and Nostoc mascarum (N. mascarum)) on peanut yield, quality and certain soil biological activities under various nitrogen fertilization conditions and three types of applications, thefirst treatment was carried out as coating seeds with powder of individual of each cyanobacterial strain and the before planted, second treatment seeds were drenched withsuspension of eachcyanobacterial strain individually andthe last treatment was by foliar doses after 15, 45 and 60 days from seeds planting. Results showed that applying cyanobacteria inoculation to peanut plants generally enhanced peanut plant growth, leading to significantly higher yields of peanut and grains than uninoculated treatments. Treatment of N. mascarum + 75% N recorded the highest peanut yield and plant characteristics followed by N. mascarum+ 75% N in soil drench application compared to other tested treatments and types of applications. Cyanobacteria enhanced the amount of N, P, Kand Ca in peanut plants overall. By increasing the total chlorophyl, carotenoids, dehydrogenase, urease activities and nutrients in the peanut rhizosphere, cyanobacteria inoculation had a favorable impact on soil fertility. In general, cyanobacteria inoculation with 75% nitrogen amounts can benefit under peanut growth in sandy soil conditions.