Response of Yield and Some Physiological Traits of Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) to Topping Height and Application Methods of Zn and Ca Nano-Chelates

ABSTRACTGroundnut is an annual legume and important oilseed crop in the world. In order to evaluate the influence of the topping height and application methods of Zinc (Zn) and Calcium (Ca) nano-chelates on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of groundnut, these experiments were carried out during the 2016–2017 cropping seasons on groundnut in Iran. Both foliar and in soil applications of Zn and Ca nano-chelates improved groundnut yield. Foliar application of Zn nano-chelate in combination with topping the main stem 20 cm above the ground produced the highest 100-seed weight (82.19 g), seed yield per unit area (2722.5 kg.h−1), harvest index (57.53%), biological yield (6540.00 kg.h−1), oil yield (1486.76 kg.h−1), protein yield (742.66 kg.h−1), seed Zn content (12.08 ppm) and Ca content (35.86 ppm). The application of Zn nano-chelate had different positive influences on vegetative and reproductive growth of groundnut plants. Generally, optimizing of the nutritional status in groundnut plants with C...