Md. Quamruzzaman
Department of Agronomy, Sher-e-Bangla Agriculture University, Dhaka 1207, Bangladesh
Md. Jafar Ullah
Department of Agronomy, Sher-e-Bangla Agriculture University, Dhaka 1207, Bangladesh
Md. Fazlul Karim
Department of Agronomy, Sher-e-Bangla Agriculture University, Dhaka 1207, Bangladesh
Nazrul Islam
Department of Horticulture, Sher-e-Bangla Agriculture University, Dhaka 1207, Bangladesh
Md. Jahedur Rahman
Department of Horticulture, Sher-e-Bangla Agriculture University, Dhaka 1207, Bangladesh
Md. Dulal Sarkar
Boron, Light, Morph-Physiology, Pod Yield, Peanut
Crop-Soil-Water Management
Ground nut, Fertilizer
2.1. Experimental Site. The experiment was conducted at the Central Experimental Farm, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka 1207, Bangladesh, from March to July 2014, and the same experiment was conducted from Mach to July 2015 in the same plot. The soil of the experimental field was analyzed before the studies were conducted and means of two years were recorded (Table 1(a)). The experimental field was located at 23? 41???? N latitude and 90? 22???? E longitude at a height of 8.6 m above the sea level belonging to the agro-ecological zone “AEZ-28” of Madhupur Tract [20]. The environmental factor, that is, mean air temperature, relative humidity, and rainfall in 2014 and 2015 of the experimental site, was also recorded (Table 1(b)). 2.2. Methods of Soil Nutrient Elements and Particle Size Analysis 2.2.1. pH. pH was determined by Jenway 3570 pH meter using soil and water ratio 1: 2.5. 2.2.2. Total Nitrogen. The micro Kjeldahl method was used for determining total nitrogen. 2.2.3. Exchangeable Potassium and Calcium. For these two elements soil extraction was made by using 1 M ammonium acetate solution and K; Ca was measured directly from the soil extract in the flame photometer. 2.2.4. Exchangeable Phosphorous. Phosphorous was extracted with 0.3 M NH4F according to Bray and Kurtz method. 2.2.5. Exchangeable Sulphur. Sulfur was determined turbid metrically using acid seed solution and turbid metric reagent with soil filtrate. Reading was taken on Perkin Elmer Lambda 11 (2.2) UV/VIS Spectrometer at 535 nm. 2.2.6. Boron. Extraction of boron was made by using 0.01 M CaCl2. The extract was then processed with buffer solution and azomethine-H reagent. The concentration of boron was measured in a spectrophotometer. 2.2.7. Sand, Silt, and Clay. The hydrometer method was used to analyze the percentage of sand, silt, and clay. 2.2.8. Organic Matter. Total organic carbon was determined with LECO-C-200 carbon analyzer. The organic matter content of the individual soil sample was determined by multiplying the presence of carbon by the factor 1.724. 2.3. Plant Material and Treatments. Two peanut varieties were used in this experiment, namely, Dhaka-1 (Maizchar Badam) and BARI Chinabadam-8. The seeds of the groundnuts were collected from Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Gazipur, Bangladesh. The experiment was laid out in a 2 × 3 × 2 factorial design with three replications. The experimental unit was 4 m2 (2 m × 2 m) plot. The first factor was the two peanut varieties, namely, Dhaka-1 (V1) and BARI Chinabadam-8 (V2); the second factor was the three levels of boron, namely, 0 kg B ha−1 (B0), 1 kg B ha−1 (B1), and 2 kg B ha−1 (B2) and third factor was the duration of light, that is, normal daylight (≈12 h light) (L0) and normal daylight + 6 h extended red light at night (≈18 h light) (L). In both years, to extend the photoperiod, one month after seed sowing (after seedling emergence), artificial lightening was used by fluorescence bulb from 1800 h to 2400 h at 30–50,000 lux, measured by lux meter. 2.4. Field Preparation and Data Recorded. The recommended doses of organic manure and inorganic fertilizer were also used for the present experiment. Cow dung, urea, triple superphosphate, muriate of potash, gypsum, and zinc sulfate were applied at 10 t ha−1, 25 kg ha−1, 160 kg ha−1, 75 kg ha−1, 170 kg ha−1, and 4 kg ha−1, respectively. The crop was harvested at maturity stage (114 days after planting (DAP) for 1st EXPT and 120 days after planting for 2nd EXPT); in the meantime randomly three plants of each plot were uprooted and different reproductive data were recorded at 60 DAP and 90 DAP and at harvest.
International Journal of Agronomy Volume 2016, Article ID 4081357, 9 pages
Journal