Peanut Growth, Yield and Water Use Efficiency in Conventional and Sod-based Rotations.

Integration of perennial grasses, such as bahiagrass, into crop rotations has many advantages. A sod-based peanut-cotton rotation study was established in 2001 at the University of Florida’s North Florida Research and Education Center, Quincy FL to investigate long-term profitability and sustainability in crop production and soil quality. The objective was to assess peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) growth, yield, aflatoxin concentration and water use efficiency (WUE) of irrigated versus non-irrigated plants in conventional (peanut-cotton-cotton) and sod-based (bahiagrass-bahiagrass-peanut-cotton) rotations. In the drought year of 2007, there was no difference between the two rotation systems in terms of growth, yield or WUE of the irrigated peanuts. However, under the non-irrigated conditions, peanut in the sod-based rotation had 38% higher leaf water potential and accumulated 16% more dry matter, resulting in significantly greater yield and WUE.  Additionally, peanut in the sod-based rotation system had a much lower kernel aflatoxin concentration (0.1 ppb) as compared with peanut (23.3 ppb) grown in the conventional rotation. These results indicated that in a dry year, the sod-based rotation improved peanut plant water status, thereby mitigating the negative effect of water deficit stress, resulting in greater peanut yield and quality.