Export of India’s Groundnut Increased in Vietnam

Exports of groundnuts have increased by over a third on robust demand from countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia and a bigger domestic crop.

Groundnut News: Digital Farming Practices Increase the Groundnut Yield by 30%

Hyderabad: Using cloud technology and business intelligence, farmers in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district increased their per hectare groundnut yield by 30%.

Groundnut News: Scientists Cracks Ancestor Genome of Groundnut.

A scientific breakthrough on the DNA sequencing of the groundnut promises the development of improved groundnut varieties with enhanced traits such as increased pod and oil yield, drought and heat tolerance and greater disease resistance.

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is important oilseed crop and oil content of the seed varies from 44-50%, depending on the varieties and agronomic conditions. It is also used in soap making, and in manufacturing cosmetics and lubricants, olein, stearin and their salts. Kernels are also eaten raw, roasted or sweetened. They are rich in protein and vitamins A, B and members of the B₂ group. The cake can be used for manufacturing artificial fibre. The haulms are fed (green, dried or silaged) to livestock. Groundnut shell is used as fuel for manufacturing coarse boards, cork substitutes etc. Groundnut is also of value as a rotation crop. The production are concentrated in the four states of Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Orissa have irrigated areas.

The crop can be grown successfully in places receiving a minimum rainfall of 500mm and a maximum rainfall of 1,250mm. The rainfall should be distributed well during the flowering and pegging of the crop. The groundnut cannot stand frost, long and severe drought or water stagnation.

The crop does best on sandy loam and loamy soils and in black soils with good drainage. Heavy and stiff clays are unsuitable for groundnut cultivation as the pod development is hampered in these soils.

'Junagadh-II', 'TMV-2', 'Pol-2', 'AK 12-24', 'Kopergaon-3', 'KG-61-240' (Jyothi).

'TMV-6', 'TMV-8','Kopergaon-1', 'C-501'.

'Punjab-I', 'GAUG-10','Kadiri-71.1', TMV-1', 'TMV-3', 'S-230', 'Karad4-11'

For a kharif crop, with the onset of rains in May-June, the field is given two ploughing and the soil is pulverized well to obtain a good tilth. Harrows or tiller can be used for cultivation. If a field is infested with white grubs, chemicals, such as Heptachlor or Chlordane, are drilled at the rate of 25kg per ha. before final harrowing. For the irrigated crop, beds of convenient size may be made, depending upon the topography of the land, the nature of the irrigation source and the mode of lifting water.

Groundnut is raised mostly as a rainfed kharif crop, being sown from May to June, depending on the monsoon rains. It is sown as late as August or early September. As an irrigated crop it is grown to limited extent between January and March and between in May and July. Well-filled kernels should be selected and treated with 5g of Thiram or 3g of Captan per kg of kernels. The quantity of well-developed seeds required per hectare about 110 kg for semi spreading and spreading varieties and 120kg for the bunch varieties. The kharif crop is sown with a seed drill or with a suitable planter at a depth of 8-10 cm. for semi spreading and spreading varieties, the spacing between at he adjacent rows varies for m30-60cm and within the row from 10-15cm. For the rainfed bunch groundnut the inter-row spacing vary between 20 and 30cm and the intra-row spacing between 10 and 20cm.

Fertilizer recommended for rainfed crop is 6.25 tonnes farmyard manure and 10-25kg nitrogen (N), 20-40kg phosphorus (P₂O₅) and 20-40kg potash (K₂O) per hectare. For irrigated crop 12.5 tonnes farmyard manure and 20-40kg nitrogen (N), 40-90kg phosphorus (P₂O₅) and 20-40kg potash (K₂O) per hectare. The application of nitrogen (N) in two equal splits doses, one before sowing and the other 30 days after sowing. The application of a culture of Rhizobium as seed treatment is beneficial in increasing nodulation and nitrogen fixation. The application of gypsum at 500kg per ha at the pegging stage will enhance pod formation.

The kharif crop is caught in a long spell of drought, especially at the pod-formation stage, supplemental irrigation is given. For the irrigated groundnut, the frequency of irrigation depends on the soil texture, and the interval between irrigation ranges from 8-12 days. The peg-formation stage is critical.

For controlling weeds, and also to keep the soil in a friable condition, the crop should generally receive a hand-weeding and one or two hoeings, with bullock-drawn implements, the first about three weeks after sowing and the second and the third about a fortnight and a month later. No interculture would be done after the pegs have commenced going underground. Earthing up can be done in the case of bunch and semi-spreading types for facilitate the maximum penetration of the pegs into the soil. Weeds can also be controlled effectively with Lasso or Tok-E-25 weedicide at the rate of 5 litres in 500 litres of water per hectare as a pre-emergence soil spray within two days of sowing groundnut.

Caterpillars mine the tender leaves and later fold the adjacent leaves to feed within. Pest active during July to December; drought, with occasional showers favourable.

Dust 4% Carbaryl,

Vector of a virus disease (rosette), dry and warm weather, favourable.

Spray 0.03% Dimethoate or Phosphamidon, Monocroptophos or Methyl-demeton

The adults emerge immediately after the monsoon; grubs feed on roots and kill the plants.

Grubs very difficult to kill; the application of 10% Phorate granules is to be effective.

Reddish brown discolouration on the stem, spreading and the plant collapsing; tissues blackened and numerous tiny black scleriotia are formed

Practise crop rotation, treat seed with Agrosan GN or Ceresan or Thiram @ 3gram per kg of seed.

Dark spots surrounded by a bright-yellow ring on the leaves and sometimes on the petiole and the stem; premature leaf-shedding is characteristic.

Spray with Brestan or with 4:4:50 Bordeaux mixture or with 0.2% Ziram or Zineb or Maneb.

Leaves reduced in size and malformed; suppression of the internodes; partial sterility.

Use well-developed disease free seeds, rogue out diseased plants.