The Effect of Extending Irrigation Intervals on Growth and Yield Attributes and Harvest Indices of Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in Clay Soil

The main question that drived and guided this study was how to grow groundnut as food crop with conservation in fresh water resource in arid climate.As a result, this field study was carried out for two years (2021/2022 and 2022/2023) to investigate the effects of constant input of irrigation water (93mm), applied at intervals of 7, 14, 21, and 28 days, on the growth and yield of MH383 groundnut cultivar. The effects were viewed regarding growth and yield and water use efficiency (m3 of water / Kg dry matter) of groundnut MH3 cultivar to assess the optimum policy to conserve irrigation water. The results indicated that extending irrigation interval to reduce consumption of irrigation water resulted in a clear reduction of vegetative and reproductive growth attributes (plant height, leaf area, dry matter production, number of pegs per plant, number and dry weight of pods per plant, 100-seed weight and harvest index). These reductions were naturally reflected in reduced hay and pod yields. The number and dry weight of pods per plant were the yield components most affected by decreased watering. Frequent watering resulted in improved pod and hay yield. Such reduction is manifested in the number and dry weight of pods per plant. The results of the experiment showed that leaf area indices of plants stressed during the vegetative phase were higher during the mid and late season (reproductive phase). For irrigated groundnut, it is possible to increase field water use efficiency dry matter production, and crop yield, by imposing a transient deficit in soil moisture using 14-day irrigation intervals or even 21-day intervals of severe water shortage without significant loss on crop productivity.