Appropriate Drip Irrigation Pipe Burial Depth Can Enhance Peanut Photosynthetic Capacity and Promote Yield Formation

Shallow-buried drip irrigation is an effective water-saving technique; however, the optimal burial depth for drip irrigation tape in peanut production remains unclear. To clarify the effects of different burial depths of drip irrigation tapes on peanut growth, photosynthetic performance, water use efficiency and yield, a two-year field experiment was conducted from 2022 to 2023 with four treatments: M0 (0 cm), M3 (3 cm), M6 (6 cm) and M9 (9 cm). The results showed that the M3 treatment produced the highest pod yield, biomass yield, kernel yield, 100-pod weight, irrigation water use efficiency, leaf area index, and photosynthetic parameter values. Compared with M0, pod yield and irrigation water use efficiency under M3 increased by 12.09% and 19.80%, respectively. Overall, under the conditions of this experiment, a drip irrigation tape burial depth of 3 cm proved most beneficial for improving peanut productivity and irrigation water use efficiency.