Morphogenetic, physiological, and productive of forage peanut responses to shading

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the morphogenetic, structural, physiological, and productive traits of forage peanut (Arachis pintoi) subjected to different levels of artificial shading in the field. The 'Amarillo MG-100' forage peanut was planted in April 2015, and the evaluations were carried out from May 2017 to April 2018. The treatments were: 0, 30, 45, and 75% of artificial shading. There was no significant effect of shading on the morphogenetic traits of forage peanut. Shading increased final leaf length and canopy height and decreased the leaf area index and number of stolons. Photosynthesis, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, chlorophyll b, and leaf temperature increased quadratically as a function of shading. There was a linear positive effect on the growing cycle length and a quadratic effect on the production of dry matter mass, with the maximum at 30% shade. Forage peanut harvested at 95% light interception (11-cm height) shows adaptation to shading up to 45%, with increased leaf size, canopy height, photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, and chlorophyll b. In addition, plants at 30% shading show a higher yield than those growing under full sun.