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Plant Science Today (PST)

Review Articles

Vol. 12 No. sp3 (2025): Advances in Plant Health Improvement for Sustainable Agriculture

Insights into pre-harvest sprouting dynamics in groundnut

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.8436
Submitted
21 March 2025
Published
10-12-2025

Abstract

The cultivation of groundnut is essential for sustaining economic activity, improving soil fertility, oil content and promoting food security. Because of its flexibility and adaptability, it is an essential crop for both commercial and subsistence farming. Pre-harvest sprouting of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) seeds poses a significant challenge due to their non-dormant nature. Spanish and Valencia bunch cultivars pose significant agricultural difficulty because of uncontrolled sprouting due to rainfall or high soil moisture during harvest. Field sprouting in bunch varieties results in a 20 %-25 % yield decrease. Kernels also grow when they are piled on the threshing floor with high moisture content. In dormant bunch cultivars, yield losses from viviparous germination can be reduced for a short period of time (3-4 weeks) because of their natural dormant character. To prevent pod losses from rainfall during harvest, seeds should be induced into dormancy for at least three weeks. Seed dormancy induction in standing crops can be accomplished through foliar application of targeted chemical treatments, which has been shown to be an effective approach. Apart from that, a few semi-spreading and spreading species (Virginia type) show variable lengths of dormancy compared to bunch cultivars. Genetic modification of these cultivars to introduce seed dormancy is the most practical way to solve this problem. To successfully incorporate seed dormancy into Spanish and Valencia bunch types, one must have a thorough understanding of the inheritance patterns of this feature and how it interacts with other plant and pod/kernel traits.

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