Morphological and molecular insights of calcium in peanut pod development

Abstract

Calcium is an important secondary macronutrient after nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium for the proper development of the plant. It is typically important for the formation of cell walls, cell members and accumulates in the plant cells. Calcium deficiency occurs rarely in nature but excess calcium limits plant communities on calcareous soils. In peanut, calcium uptake by plants from the soil will remain in the plant tissues and will not be transported back to developing pods where calcium requirement is more. The geotropic growth of peanut pods had capacity of absorption of calcium from the soil for filling and development of pods. Application of calcium before the pod development stage in peanut is required to have sufficient calcium available to the pods which could help an increase in yield up to 20–30%. The calcium-related genes in different metabolic pathways help in the regulation of embryo abortion in peanut and also a well-documented role in mediating plant responses to abiotic and biotic stimuli. This article provides a summary of the role of calcium, its management details, the transport of calcium into plants through the soil and overview of calcium genes in peanut pod development.

Keywords

• Peanut
• Calcium
• Pod development