LIQUID FERTILIZATION AND BIOCHAR TO BOOST THE YIELD AND PROFITABILITY OF Arachis hypogaea L. IN DRYLAND AGROECOSYSTEMS

Abstract

Temporary water deficits during the rainy season adversely affect surface soil, limiting the solubilization of granular fertilizers applied in surface bands. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of liquid and granular fertilization in combination with biochar on the yield and profitability of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in rainfed agroecosystems. The study was carried out during the January-June period of both the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Four treatments were evaluated: liquid fertilization + biochar (LFB); conventional fertilization + biochar (CFB); conventional fertilization (CF); and a control treatment (no fertilization). The main variables recorded were seed yield, the partial factor productivity of NPK (PFPNPK), and net economic benefit (NEB) of fertilization. The results showed that fertilization treatments significantly influenced (p < 0.05) seed yield and partial factor productivity of NPK (PFPNPK). LFB produced the highest yield values with 2007 kg ha-1, exceeding CFB, CF, and the control by 182, 396, and 637 kg, respectively. LFB also achieved the highest increases in PFPNPK compared with CFB and CF, indicating greater nutrient use efficiency. The highest NEB of fertilization was obtained with LFB, with USD 518 ha-1, compared with USD 377 and 186 ha-1 for CFB and CF, respectively. It is concluded that the combined application of liquid fertilizer and biochar is an economically viable and sustainable strategy for rainfed peanut production, particularly under surface soil water deficit.