Effects of Reusing Peanut Seeds Grown in Saline Irrigation Water on Yield Attributes and Quality Traits

Abstract

The productivity of the peanut in salinity-prone areas has sharply declined and needs an immediate solution to meet the ever increasing demand of oilseed. It is hypothesized in this paper that the reuse of peanut seeds harvested from salinity-prone areas is a possible reason for this decline in peanut productivity. To investigate, the seed of two cultivars (TG 37A and GG 2) were grown under three different irrigation-water salinity levels (2, 4, and 6 dSm−1) and under normal soil conditions. All plant biometric parameters, including pod and haulm yield, decreased with increasing salinity levels for both seed types (normally grown and salinity-grown) and both cultivars. However, biometric parameters were higher in Cultivar GG 2 than in TG 37A except days to 50% flowering, number of immature pods, 100-pod mass, and 100-seed mass. Furthermore, the performance of salinity-grown seed was poor compared with normally grown seed, as indicated by a decrease in real value of seed, germination percentage, germination velocity, plant stand, number of mature pods, 100-pod mass, and 100-seed mass. Therefore, reuse of salinity-grown seed reduced pod yield of up to 46% under different irrigation-water salinity levels compared with seed grown under normal-water conditions. Kernel quality was also affected by salinity stress, with lower oil and higher protein and sugar content. The content of phenol, free amino acid, and moisture was slightly affected as well. Alterations in quality traits were higher in GG 2 than in TG 37A, suggesting the former’s better elasticity under salinity stress. For these reasons, use of peanut seed harvested from saline conditions should be avoided to ensure better peanut production under saline and nonsaline conditions.