Department of Plant Physiology, Agricultural College, Bapatla-522101
The nature of leaf senescence was studied in six genotypes of groundnut (Araehis hypogaea L.) varying in their disease response during monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. The leaf senescence at pod maturity stage was assessed by estimating the percentage of leaf senescence, specific leaf weight (SLW) chlorophyll, N, P and K contents of the lower and upper leaves in the main stem. The leaf senescence was comparatively more during the monsoon season than in post-monsoon season due to the high incidence of leaf diseases like rust and leaf spot. However the percentage of leaf senescence was not significant in the post-monsoon season. The Spanish types showed higher percentage of leaf senescence than the Valencia types. There was no difference in SLW, N, P and K contents between leaves of the upper and lower nodes of the main stem indicating even the lower leaves did not enter senescence at the pod maturity stage of groundnut.
