BACKGROUND

Groundnut, popularly known as the peanut is a leguminous crop cultivated for edible purposes. The oil
content in the seed is estimated to be around 44-50%. The useful part or the part of economical
importance within the crop grows under the ground as pods. These crops contain nitrogen fixing
bacteria in their roots and that is the reason behind their low nitrogen fertilizer requirement. Being a
leguminous crop, groundnut also grow in crop rotation as it synthesize atmospheric nitrogen and adds
about 100-120 kg of nitrogen in the field per hectare per season. It maintains the fertility of soil and
helps in reducing soil erosion. Groundnut oil cake is used as animal and poultry feed as well as an
organic fertilizer.

OBJECTIVE

The main objectives can be summed up as :

 To make newcomers understand the potential of groundnut cultivation.

 Expansion of groundnut for sustainable crop production.
 To practice groundnut in a profitable way
 To help rural women upgrade their economic situation
 To encourage the rural mass towards groundnut cultivation, a highly remunerative crop

Cultivars/Varieties of Groundnut
All the varieties of groundnut can be divided into three main subcategories namely; (i) the bunch or the
Spanish variety, (ii) the semi-spreading or Virginia bunch variety and (iii) the spreading or Virginia runner
variety.
(i) Bunch variety
• Plants are erect
• Light green foliage
• Pods are produced in clusters
• Seeds are round, plump and non-dormant
• Seed colour is light rose
• Eg. of this variety are Ah.32, Junagadh-II, GAUG-1, Kadiri-71.1, TMV-2, pol.1. pol.2, AK.12-24,
Kopergoan-3 etc.
(ii) Semi- spreading variety
• Partial trailing branches
• Pod production along the branches
• Dark green colour foliage Oblong, dormant and brown seeds
• Some examples of semi spreading varieties are TMV-6, TMV-8, Kopergoan-1, C-501 etc.
(iii) Spreading variety
• Completely trail along the surface of soil
• Have dark green foliage
• Seeds are oblong and dormant
• Some examples of spreading varieties are Punjab-I, Ah.334, GAUG-2, TMV-3, Karad 4-11, M-145, M-13
etc.
The semi-spreading and spreading varieties have heavy yield characteristics and late maturing property.

METHOD OF CULTIVATION

A. LAND PREPARATION

Field should be ploughed and cross ploughed to bring to a fine tilth up to a depth of 25-30cm. Generally,
two ploughings followed by two harrowing in criss-cross direction will bring the soil to a fine tilth. Deep
ploughing is advantageous in rainfed areas because of better retention of moisture and improvement in
soil porosity. It leads to better management of soil borne pathogens and enhanced nutrient availability.
In sandy and sandy loam soils, the best practice is to undertake soil planking as soon as ploughing of soil
is undertaken after collecting and removing rice stubbles if any.

B. SOWING

Groundnut is sown in between second fortnight of June and first fortnight of July in kharif depending
upon the onset of monsoon. The most ideal time for rabi sowing is between last week of November to
second fortnight of December. Sowing groundnut in January under residual moisture conditions
exposes the crop to moisture stress resulting in poor plant stand. However, wherever facility of
irrigation source is available, the crop can be sown from January to February. Maintenance of optimum
plant population is the key to success in groundnut cultivation. The most common spacing for Spanish
(Bunch) cultivar is 30 x 10 cm. At this spacing, the seed requirement works out to be 100-110 kg
kernels/ha to obtain a plant population of roughly 3.33 lakh plants/ha. In semi spreading or spreading
varieties like the confectionery types, the most common recommended spacing is 45cm x 10cm which
requires 95-100 kg kernel/ha to get a population of 2.22 lakh plants /ha.

The seeds need to be treated with efficient strain of Rhizobium before planting. For this, about 375-500
g of Rhizobium culture can be mixed with the seeds required for a hectare through the use of rice paste
or any other gummy substances so as to get a uniform coating on the seed. The depth of sowing is also
crucial specially in sandy soils for uniform germination. The sowing should be done 3-4 cm deep and well
covered with soil.

C. NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT

Groundnut being legume, needs more phosphorous, being an oilseed crop needs more sulphur and it
needs more calcium for proper shell formation and pod filling. To produce one tonne pods/ha
 groundnut requires about 58 kg N, 5 kg of P and 18 kg K, 11 kg calcium, 4 kg sulphur and 9 kg of
Magnesium. To sustain the overall health of the soil and continued good yields, a desirable level of
organic carbon in the soil (0.3 -0.7 %) must be maintained. Application of organic matter (Farm Yard
Manure i.e. FYM compost, green manure or crop residues) to the soil is a must for supplying organic
carbon. Well decomposed farm yard manure or compost @8-10 tonnes/ha should be applied well
before sowing and should be immediately incorporated into the soil. Organic manures are good source
of micronutrients also. Inoculation of efficient strains of Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria (PSB)
culture species like Pseudomonas striata and Bacillus polymixa with the seed increases availability of
phosphorous from the soil and thus improves yields. The inoculation of seed with PSB should be done as
has been described for Rhizobium and both can be mixed together and applied simultaneously. For
obtaining high fertilizer use efficiency, inorganic fertilizers should be applied on the basis of soil test
results. However, based on field experiments the recommended NPK doses are indicated below. The
recommended fertilizer dose for groundnut crop under Odisha condition is 20 kg N, 50 kg P 2O5 and 30 kg
K2O/ha in addition to 250 kg Gypsum/ha once in three years.

D. Seeds, Seed Rate and Treatment

I. Seed
 Bunch types (Spanish and Valencia) have non-dormant seeds whereas semi-spreading (Virginia bunch)
and spreading (Virginia runner) have dormant seeds. The non-dormant seeds germinate immediately
after maturity. The dormant seeds usually require a resting period of 60 to 75 days before maximum
germination can be obtained.
 Dormancy can be broken by exposing the seed to ethrel or by storing seeds along with ripening bananas
for 3 to 4 days in air tight containers.
 The seed germination is 90 to 95 % in bunch types and 85 to 90 % in spreading types. Germination less
than 85% is not considered satisfactory though minimum germination percentage of 70 is prescribed as
seed standards for certification of labeled seed.
 Wherever the hand shelling of groundnut pods is not possible due to scarcity of labourers, groundnut
decorticators (both hand operated and power operated) can be utilized for shelling the pods for seed
purpose.
II. Seed Rate
 The seed rate should be determined so that in normal circumstances of normal rates of establishment, a
full ground cover is achieved when the crop ceases vegetative growth.

Season Seed rate (kg/ha)

Rainfed 140
Irrigated 125
For bold seeded varieties*

Rainfed 154
Irrigated 137.5
 *JL 24, Co 2, VRI 2, TMV 10 and Co3

 It will be better to use the seed rate based on the germination percentage of the seed aiming to achieve
the optimum plant stand of 33 plants/m2.

III. Seed Treatment

Groundnut seed with its high oil content is a good substrate for the development of pathogens. There
are several seed and soil-borne diseases of groundnut which cause considerable damage to the seeds
and seedlings emerging from soil. The pods have to be shelled only few days before sowing and the
seeds be treated with fungicides.
Seed treatment with any one of these fungicides is effective in protecting the seedlings against seed and
soil-borne diseases resulting in higher plant stand

carbendazium @ 2 g per kg / captan @ 4 g per kg of seed/ thiram @ 4 g per kg of seed/mancozeb @ 4 g

per kg of seed

 Seed treatment with fungicides has to be done using a seed treatment drum or by placing the required
quantity of fungicides and seed in a pot and rotating the pot, mixing the fungicide and seed so that the
surface of each seed gets a complete coating of the fungicide. This will reduce pre-emergence rots and
post germination mortality of seedlings.
 Inoculation of seed with efficient strains of nitrogen-fixing bacteria is necessary for areas where
groundnut is not generally grown. Seed inoculation with 3 packets (600g) of TNAU 14 Rhizobium culture
per ha is recommended. This can be treated with seeds using rice kanji as binder.
 The effect of seed treatment with fungicides lasts only 20 - 30 days from sowing and most of the
chemicals used for seed treatment to prevent fungal diseases also kill the inoculating rhizobia, thus
rendering artificial inoculation ineffective.
 The ability of antagonistic microorganisms as seed inoculants has been well proved against pathogens
and they have the capacity to multiply in the rhizosphere region.
 These bio-control agents are also compatible with the nitrogen fixing bacterium, Rhizobium. Hence, the
bio-control agents like Trichoderma viride (4 g/kg of seed) or Pseudomonas fluorescens (10 g/kg of seed)
can be used for seed treatment as they are more advantageous than chemical seed treatment.

E. WATER MANAGEMENT
On an average, groundnut crop requires about 550-650 mm of water depending up on the soil type. The
most critical stages when adequate moisture must be available are i) flowering and ii) peg
penetration/pod formation and pod filling. If there is moisture deficit during these critical stages, the
pod yield is reduced substantially. Wherever irrigation facilities exist, providing life saving irrigation at
these critical stages can increase the pod yield by 30-35 % as seen under some of the Frontline
demonstrations.
 F. WEED MANAGEMENT

Weeds cause maximum damage to the crop upto 45 days after sowing. Improper weed control is critical
constraint affecting groundnut yields. Weeds need to be removed 20-25 days after sowing to avoid
weed competition. Frequent interculturing with groundnut hoe is an effective method to eliminate
weed growth. Herbicides like pre-emergence application of Pendimethalin @1.0 kg a.i./ha along with
two intercultures at 30-45 days after sowing has been recommended for effective and economical
control of weeds.

G. HARVESTING AND STORAGE

Groundnut is an indeterminate crop; hence synchronous maturity of its pods cannot be obtained.
Therefore, harvesting should be done when 75-80 % of all the pods are fully matured. The bunch type
varieties mature in about 110-115 days and the semi spreading varieties in 120-125 days. The prominent
symptoms of maturity are the yellowing of leaves, the shedding of older leaves, the development of pink
color of the testa and the dark tint inside the shell. The bunch and semi- spreading varieties are usually
harvested by hand pulling when there is adequate moisture in a soil. The spreading types, on the other
hand, are harvested by digging with a spade or local plough or with the help of a blade harrow. The
pulled out plants are stacked for a few days for drying and detached the pods afterwards. Delay of
harvest after maturity will result in stem rot and weakening of pegs, thus pods may be left in the soil.

A portion of harvest is required to be kept for seed should be dried thoroughly till the moisture content
comes down to 7-8 % and should be stored in polythene lined gunny bags. Rattling sound of pods when
shaken is a good indicator of well dried pods. Pods should be dried immediately after harvest. Ideally the
pods should be dried in shade at a temperature below 40⁰celsius. If the seed is dried in direct sun light
at a temperature above 40 degrees the seed looses viability fast.

The pods are cleaned and dried to a safe moisture content of not more than 5%. Damp nuts, if stored,
will ferment and allow the development of poisonous moulds, (Aspergillus flavus) in the Kernels, leading
to contamination with aflatoxin--a health hazard both for human beings and livestock. It is desirable to
store groundnut in gunny bags and stacked in a storeroom in tires comprising not more ten in each in
such a way that the air keeps circulating over planks to avoid damage from dampness, rats, etc. The
store rooms should be periodically inspected to ensure that there is no storage pest.

Estimated cost for 1 acre of land

MODALITIES

 The households included in the sub sector must be a member of the SHGs and
involved in any farm activities
 A Cluster is defined as a geographical concentration & should cover at least 10 – 15
Gram Panchayats within the block or beyond the block of a district of targeted
groundnut subsector.
 Each groundnut sub sector must comprise of a minimum 500 and maximum 1000
members based on which the numbers of PGs are to be decided
 Blocks and Districts where the poultry sub sector is proposed should have the dedicated
human resource for farm livelihood activities.
 Groundnut sub sector should have the marketable surplus produce to ensure market
linkages.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT: -

MONITORING AND REPORTING: -

PROCUREMENT PROCESS:

MANAGEMENT PROCESS:

MARKETING PLAN:
ACTIVITIES WITH ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY:-

For the better management of groundnut the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders are as
follows:
a) House hold:
 The household involved in floriculture cluster should be recommended by its own SHG.
 HHs involved in patches will responsible for proper management and functioning of unit
 HHs will give time to time report to the GPLF
 Take required responsibility regarding the marketing of groundnut.
b) GPLF :
 GPLF will provide required input to cluster.
 Training and capacity building of HH and krushi mitra/LSP
 Livelihoods subcommittee of GPLF will monitor the groundnut subsector
 GPLF will provide the time to time report to BMMU on groundnut subsector
 Preparation of Groundnut subsector proposal.
c) Krushi Mitra & LSP:
 Post intervention assessment
 Krushi Mitra (KM) and LSP will coordinate with Agriculture departments for technical support
 Krushi Mitra (KM) and LSP will provide day to day handholding support
 Krushi mitra and LSP will be responsible for documentation of activities of groundnut subsector
 ldentification of patch.
 Arrangement of meeting among the household coming under this patch
 Selection of crop and arrangement for water sources
d) BMMU:
 Support GPLF in carrying out their functions related to groundnut subsector
 Ensure all the activities in groundnut subsector will be functional & sustainable
 Review of groundnut subsector budget and its submission to DMMU
 Facilitation of visit of AAO/AHO to Groundnut subsector patches
 Responsible for all feasible convergence with departments
e) DMMU:
Overall responsibility of functioning of all the activities of groundnut subsector rests with DMMU.