Flowering phenology and fruiting characteristics of summer peanut under different planting systems

Although peanut intercropping with wheat is the main planting system in the “2-year triple cropping systems” area, the system is inferior in terms of manpower requirement, mechanization level and planting scale. To realize the cropping system reform from the intercropping system to summer seeding system and to comprehensively study growth regularities of summer sowing systems, a pool-culture experiment was conducted, and the flowering phenology and fruiting characteristics of peanut under 3 different planting systems intercropping with wheat (T1), summer sowing after wheat harvest with ridging and film mulching (T2) and summer sowing after wheat harvest with ridging (T3) were analyzed. The study conducted mathematical analysis on changes in flower development and investigated the indexes of flowering phenology and differences in fructification of peanut planted through different methods. Thus the study provided vital theory basis for high-yield culture of summer peanut. The results showed that T2 treatment accelerated the growing process of peanut at the early stage, shortened the period from germination to flowering by about 8 days and improved the index for synchronous flowering, thereby concentrating flowering period of peanut. Compared with T1, T2 improved the maximum amount of flowering per plant by 4.9%, increased the number of fruit pins per plant by 20.0%, extended the period of full blooming by 7 days, increased the number of fruits per plant by 20.0%, increased the number of full pods per plant by 15.8%, and enlarged pod volume by 12.2%. The study suggested that peanut summer cultivation system also had high-yield potential and that T2 system had the best yield, with pod yield and seed kernel yield of respectively 5 196.3 kghm2 and 3 439.95 kghm2. Compared withT1, T2 improved pod and seed yield by 7.7%. Also compared with T3, T2 improved pod and seed yields respectively by 20.0% and 31.1%. T2 had the same kernel rate as T1. The results indicated that plastic film mulching with ridging cultivation overcame peanut production limitation factors such as short growth period and imperfect pods. This was beneficial for early and intensive podding, guaranteeing pod number and pod plumpness, laying the basis for high-yield peanut production.