Abstract
Groundnut is one of the most cultivated oil crops in the world. Green house pot experiments were conducted in summer seasons of 2014 and 2015 to find out the influence of L-ascorbate (LAA) on improving yield components and biochemical constituents, as well as oil composition in harvested seeds of some groundnut cultivars (NC, Giza-6 and Gregory) grown in sandy soil. Results showed that, foliar application of LAA at different concentration (0, 400 and 600 mg/l) increased yield components including number of pods/plant, pods weight/plant (g), number of seeds/plant, seeds weight/plant (g), 100-seed weight (g) and oil yield/plant (g), as well as biochemical constitutes such as total free amino acids, total protein, mineral contents (nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, zinc, manganese and iron), oil content and unsaturated fatty acids, but decreased saturated fatty acids in yielded seeds compared to control plants. Also, results reveal that total soluble sugars, total carbohydrates and total phenols were decreased in NC cv., meanwhile, these attributes were increased in Giza 6 and Gregory cultivars in response to application of LAA compared to untreated plants. The physiological responses of groundnut plants depended on the concentration of LAA and type of cultivar. In NC cv., the application of LAA at low concentration (400mg/l) seemed to be more effective than the higher one. On the contrary, in Giza-6 and Gregory cultivars, LAA at 600 mg/l seemed to be more effective than the lower concentration. Overall, foliar application of LAA has a positive role in enhancement the productivity and the biochemical constituents and fatty acids composition of groundnut cultivars (NC, Giza 6 and Gregory) grown in sandy soil.