Study of peanut culture (Arachis hypogaea L.) for agricultural production in the Lower Volga region of Russia

The peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is a valuable oilseed crop that is widely used in the food industry, animal husbandry and there is information about the benefits of peanuts for human health. There is no industrial production of peanut seeds in Russia, and it imports from producing countries. However, Russian scientists are carrying out breeding work to develop peanut varieties that will be cultivated in natural and climatic conditions suitable for it. The breeding work in Russia is aimed at selecting plant forms with a shorter growing season. In the State Register of Breeding Achievements of the Russian Federation, which was approved for using and two varieties were registered, one of which was created in close natural and climatic conditions to the Volgograd region. To study the cultivation of peanuts in the Volgograd region and the possibility of expanding the area of its growth, a decision was made to conduct an ecological test of the Astrakhan 5 variety. The purpose of the ecological study was to determine the germination of the period of peanut culture in the Volgograd region in comparison with the one declared in the characteristics of the variety–126 days, qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the studied variety. As a result, it was determined that the germination of peanut seeds was 70%. The vegetation period of the peanut cultivar Astrakhan 5 in the Volgograd region was 152 days, which was 28 days more than in the characteristics of the variety. Collected from the experimental site of 0.78 t/ha, seed yield was 2.6 t/ha, which was 5.45% lower than the declared one. Oil content of peanut seeds–55%, protein content–23% and weight of 1000 grains–85 g.