A decade of fertilizer research on groundnuts (Arachis hypogaea L) in the savannah zone of Nigeria

Field experiments on fertilizer requirements of groundnuts carried out between 1970 and 1980 were reviewed and discussed. Results of the various studies seem to suggest that existing recommendations which are based on short term annual trials carried under non-intensive or semi-intensive traditional farming systems are becoming inadequate under a system of continuous intensive cultivation. Besides phosphorus and sulphur which have long been known to be deficient in the Nigerian savannah soils, the availability of the other nutrients in these soils can no longer be taken for granted. Potash and micronutrient deficiencies, notably those of B and Mo, hitherto rare, are now showing up with increasing frequency.As a P source, single superphosphate appears to be the most suitable fertilizer for groundnuts in the Nigerian savannah at present partly because it also contains S and partly because of its solubility. Nitrogen fertilizer application tends to depress pod and kernel yield although it enhances haulm production. Groundnut haulm constitutes an important livestock feed in the West African savannah and the role of fertilizer N may have to be viewed in this context. Calcium as a nutrient does not appear to cause any serious fertility problem. Where gypsum application has produced large increases in kernel and haulm yields the dominant effect has been attributed to the sulphate component. Magnesium response has so far not been reported on groundnuts in Nigeria.It is suggested that soil fertility research in the savannah zone of West Africa should move away from short-term annual trials to long-term studies designed to tackle problems that are likely to arise under continuous cultivation in these poorly buffered sandy soils.