Abstract: To clarify the effects of new standard thickness of film (0.01 mm) on the growth and development of peanut, we compared the effects of different film thickness on soil temperature, nutrient uptake, reproductive growth, yield and quality of peanut in a field experiment. The results showed that the new standard film could increase ground temperature. Compared with the commonly used film thickness of 0.004 and 0.006 mm, the new standard film increased the daily average ground temperature by 2.24 and 1.44 ℃, and the accumulated temperature by 196.90 and 305.05 ℃, respectively. Compared with nonmulching sowing, the new standard film increased daily average ground temperature and accumulated temperature by 4.03 and 547.97 ℃, respectively. The enhancement of film thickness increased the growth process of peanut compared with no mulching, in that 0.01 mm film mulching advanced seedling emergence for 2 days, full-bloom stage for 3 days, and emergence of fruit needles for 2 days. The number of fruit needles, the number of pods, the volume of pods, and the yield significantly were enhanced with the increased mulching thickness. Compared with no mulching, 0.01 mm mulching increased the number of fruit needles, pod volume and yield by 54.44%, 121.65%, and 31.09%, respectively. The thick film was beneficial to nitrogen accumulation and nutrient utilization. However, it will increase the cost to certain extent and has higher requirements on sowing quality.

Key words: film thickness, peanut, emergence, reproductive growth, yield.