Effect of the Magnetic Treatment of Urea and Groundnut Seeds before Sowing on Its Yield and Quality under Sandy Soil Conditions

Abstract

Aims: It is to study the effect of the magnetic treatment (MT) for 30 min of urea as nitrogen (N) fertilizer as well as the groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) seeds before sowing on the crop yield and quality under sandy soil conditions.  This is to increase the crop productivity in the reclaimed sandy soils. Study Design: A Randomized Complete Block Design with three replicates. Place and Duration of Study: A field study have been carried out during the summer seasons of 2020 and 2021. Methodology: The control has received the recommended dose RD of the urea fertilizer while other treatments received the rates 50%, 75%, and 100% of the RD as magnetized urea applied to the surface soil. The groundnut grains were exposed to a magnetic field (MF) 1.4 T intensity before sowing. Representative samples from soil and plant were taken after harvesting. Results: At the 30-min time and 100% N-fertilization, the yield (kg ha-1) has increased relatively by 13.3% for pods and by 16.8% for the seeds. It has increased the chlorophyll a, b and the total chlorophyll (mg g-1 f.w) by 29.4%, 37%, and 32.2%, respectively. It has increased the soil available N by 33.7%, the P by 13.2%, and Mn by 11.8%. It also increased the K by 4.1%, Fe by 5.1%, and Zn by 9.7%. The nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and the agronomic efficiency (AE) were 5.76 and 2.75, respectively, being the highest value for the 100% rate compared to the 50% and 75% rates. Conclusion: Magnetic treatment (MT) of urea as a nitrogen fertilizer and/or groundnut seeds for 30 min before cultivation can be recommended to enhance the N use efficiency under the sandy soil conditions. This can be attributed to the induction effect of the magnetic force on the chemical and biological reactions that enhance the nutrients availability and uptake in the soil-plant system.