Effects of Parkia biglobosa (Jacq.) R. Br. Ex G. litter on growth and production parameters of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) on station in Lower Casamance

Abstract

The judicious combination of crops and trees of interest remains one of the most convincing solutions to increase the yield of peanut production in rural areas while preserving the most important woody biodiversity. However, the impact of trees of interest on food crops needs to be determined. Therefore, this study was carried out to evaluate the effect of Parkia biglobosa litter on the growth and yield parameters of peanuts. The experiment was laid out as a randomized complete block design with nine treatments corresponding to different doses of leaf and pod litter, and it was replicated three times. The results show that, morphologically, the large doses of pod litter and leaves performed better overall compared to the small doses and the control. The highest peanut pod yields were observed with leaf litter doses (1.64, 1.75 and 1.55 t/ha), and pod litter (1.84 t/ha), which were significantly different from F1, G2, G4 and the control treatments. These results indicate that the leaf litter of P. biglobosa is not a limiting factor in the perspective of combining trees with peanut crops. However, an excess dose of pod litter tends to disrupt plant growth and development by stimulating the growth of vegetative parts and significantly affecting yields.