Groundnut — Package of Practices
A warm-season oilseed that flowers above ground but fruits below — keep the soil loose for the pegs, feed calcium at pegging, and watch for leaf spots.
Overview
Groundnut (peanut) is a warm-season oilseed legume whose flowers are pollinated above ground but whose pods develop underground after the pegs push into the soil.
Because of this, a loose, free-draining soil and a good supply of calcium at pegging are essential; leaf spots and leaf miner are the routine watch-points.
Climate & season
Groundnut likes warm, bright weather (about 25–30 °C).
- Kharif (rainfed) and summer (irrigated) crops are both grown.
- Needs warm, sunny weather; it is frost-sensitive.
- A dry spell at maturity helps pods ripen cleanly.
Soil & land preparation
Best on a loose, well-drained sandy loam at pH 6.0–7.5 — loose soil lets the pegs enter easily.
- Work to a fine, friable tilth.
- Mix in 10–12 t/ha farmyard manure.
- Avoid heavy, crusting soils that block pegging.
Choosing a type & seed
Choose bunch (erect) or spreading types to suit your spacing and season. No specific cultivar is named here.
Seed rate
- Bunch types: 100–120 kg/ha of kernels.
- Spreading types: 80–100 kg/ha.
- Sow 4–5 cm deep; handle kernels gently.
Seed treatment
- Treat kernels with a recommended fungicide, then a Rhizobium culture.
- Guards against seedling rots and aids fixation.
Sowing & spacing
- Sow into warm, moist, friable soil.
- Bunch types: rows 30 cm × 10 cm.
- Spreading types: rows 45 cm × 15 cm.
- Sow 4–5 cm deep.
- Earth up lightly around flowering to ease peg entry.
Nutrient management
As a legume the crop fixes much of its own nitrogen, so give only a light starter dose with good phosphorus; a Rhizobium seed treatment improves fixation.
| Input | Dose | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Farmyard manure | 10–12 t/ha | Basal |
| Nitrogen (N) | 20 kg/ha | Light starter only |
| Phosphorus (P₂O₅) | 40–60 kg/ha | Full basal |
| Potash (K₂O) | 40 kg/ha | Basal |
| Gypsum (Ca + S) key | Apply at pegging | Fills pods, improves kernels |
Water management
Keep moisture steady through reproduction; ease off near maturity.
- Most critical at flowering, pegging and pod development.
- Avoid water stress at these stages.
- Withhold water as pods mature to aid ripening.
Intercultural & weed management
- Keep the crop weed-free for the first 45 days.
- Do not disturb the soil after pegging — it breaks the entering pegs.
- Earth up before pegging, not after.
Plant protection
| Problem | Type | Watch for | Manage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leaf miner | Pest | Rolled, mined, browning leaflets | Conserve natural enemies, neem, recommended insecticide at threshold |
| Thrips / jassids / aphids | Pest | Stunting; they spread bud necrosis | Monitor early; manage vectors to check the virus |
| Tobacco caterpillar (Spodoptera) | Pest | Patches of stripped leaves | Pheromone traps, handpick, recommended insecticide if severe |
| White grub | Pest | Wilting plants, grubs at the roots | Treated seed, light traps for adult beetles |
| Tikka leaf spots (early/late) | Disease | Brown spots with yellow halos on leaflets | Rotation, recommended fungicide, remove debris |
| Rust / stem rot | Disease | Rusty pustules; collar/stem rot | Tolerant types, drainage, fungicide if severe |
| Bud necrosis virus | Disease | Ringspots, necrosis, stunting | Control thrips early, rogue affected plants |
- Sow treated kernels of a tolerant type after a non-host crop.
- Control sucking pests early to keep viruses out.
- Scout weekly; manage leaf spots before they spread.
- Spray only at the threshold, following the label.
Use crop-protection inputs responsibly
Read the label, use the recommended dose, wear protective gear while spraying, and strictly observe the pre-harvest (waiting) interval before picking — on crops harvested repeatedly this matters at every picking. Prefer cultural and biological methods first and spray only when monitoring shows it is needed.
Harvesting & yield
Harvest when the leaves yellow and the pods are mature (dark inside the shell), generally 100–130 days.
- Lift, dry the pods well, then strip and store.
- Pod yields of about 1.5–2.5 t/ha are achievable.
Related crops
Groundnut — Package of Practices
A warm-season oilseed that flowers above ground but fruits below — keep the soil loose for the pegs, feed calcium at pegging, and watch for leaf spots.
Overview
Groundnut (peanut) is a warm-season oilseed legume whose flowers are pollinated above ground but whose pods develop underground after the pegs push into the soil.
Because of this, a loose, free-draining soil and a good supply of calcium at pegging are essential; leaf spots and leaf miner are the routine watch-points.
Climate & season
Groundnut likes warm, bright weather (about 25–30 °C).
- Kharif (rainfed) and summer (irrigated) crops are both grown.
- Needs warm, sunny weather; it is frost-sensitive.
- A dry spell at maturity helps pods ripen cleanly.
Soil & land preparation
Best on a loose, well-drained sandy loam at pH 6.0–7.5 — loose soil lets the pegs enter easily.
- Work to a fine, friable tilth.
- Mix in 10–12 t/ha farmyard manure.
- Avoid heavy, crusting soils that block pegging.
Choosing a type & seed
Choose bunch (erect) or spreading types to suit your spacing and season. No specific cultivar is named here.
Seed rate
- Bunch types: 100–120 kg/ha of kernels.
- Spreading types: 80–100 kg/ha.
- Sow 4–5 cm deep; handle kernels gently.
Seed treatment
- Treat kernels with a recommended fungicide, then a Rhizobium culture.
- Guards against seedling rots and aids fixation.
Sowing & spacing
- Sow into warm, moist, friable soil.
- Bunch types: rows 30 cm × 10 cm.
- Spreading types: rows 45 cm × 15 cm.
- Sow 4–5 cm deep.
- Earth up lightly around flowering to ease peg entry.
Nutrient management
As a legume the crop fixes much of its own nitrogen, so give only a light starter dose with good phosphorus; a Rhizobium seed treatment improves fixation.
| Input | Dose | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Farmyard manure | 10–12 t/ha | Basal |
| Nitrogen (N) | 20 kg/ha | Light starter only |
| Phosphorus (P₂O₅) | 40–60 kg/ha | Full basal |
| Potash (K₂O) | 40 kg/ha | Basal |
| Gypsum (Ca + S) key | Apply at pegging | Fills pods, improves kernels |
Water management
Keep moisture steady through reproduction; ease off near maturity.
- Most critical at flowering, pegging and pod development.
- Avoid water stress at these stages.
- Withhold water as pods mature to aid ripening.
Intercultural & weed management
- Keep the crop weed-free for the first 45 days.
- Do not disturb the soil after pegging — it breaks the entering pegs.
- Earth up before pegging, not after.
Plant protection
| Problem | Type | Watch for | Manage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leaf miner | Pest | Rolled, mined, browning leaflets | Conserve natural enemies, neem, recommended insecticide at threshold |
| Thrips / jassids / aphids | Pest | Stunting; they spread bud necrosis | Monitor early; manage vectors to check the virus |
| Tobacco caterpillar (Spodoptera) | Pest | Patches of stripped leaves | Pheromone traps, handpick, recommended insecticide if severe |
| White grub | Pest | Wilting plants, grubs at the roots | Treated seed, light traps for adult beetles |
| Tikka leaf spots (early/late) | Disease | Brown spots with yellow halos on leaflets | Rotation, recommended fungicide, remove debris |
| Rust / stem rot | Disease | Rusty pustules; collar/stem rot | Tolerant types, drainage, fungicide if severe |
| Bud necrosis virus | Disease | Ringspots, necrosis, stunting | Control thrips early, rogue affected plants |
- Sow treated kernels of a tolerant type after a non-host crop.
- Control sucking pests early to keep viruses out.
- Scout weekly; manage leaf spots before they spread.
- Spray only at the threshold, following the label.
Use crop-protection inputs responsibly
Read the label, use the recommended dose, wear protective gear while spraying, and strictly observe the pre-harvest (waiting) interval before picking — on crops harvested repeatedly this matters at every picking. Prefer cultural and biological methods first and spray only when monitoring shows it is needed.
Harvesting & yield
Harvest when the leaves yellow and the pods are mature (dark inside the shell), generally 100–130 days.
- Lift, dry the pods well, then strip and store.
- Pod yields of about 1.5–2.5 t/ha are achievable.