Groundnut
Arachis hypogaea
India's leading oilseed by area — the one major crop that flowers above ground but sets its pods below it, sending a "peg" down into the soil after fertilisation. That single quirk makes a loose, well-drained, calcium-rich seedbed and a gypsum dose at pegging matter more here than almost any fertilizer decision.
- Crop type
- Oilseed (legume)
- Season
- Kharif; summer where irrigated
- Suitable states
- 10 major states
- Growing duration
- 100–130 days
- Water requirement
- Moderate (mostly rainfed in kharif; 8–10 irrigations for a summer crop)
- Temperature
- 25–35°C
- Soil type
- Light, well-drained sandy loam
- Difficulty level
- Moderate
- Expected yield
- 15–25 q/ha of pods (in-shell)
- MSP (KMS 2026–27)
- ₹7,517 / quintal
Overview
Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) is India's largest oilseed crop by area, grown across roughly 5–6 million hectares. Gujarat is the single largest producer, followed by Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh. It is mainly a kharif, monsoon-fed crop, with a smaller but higher-yielding summer (rabi/zaid) crop where irrigation is available.
What makes groundnut unlike any other major crop is that it flowers above the ground but fruits below it. After a flower is fertilised, its stalk elongates into a "peg" that grows downward and pushes into the soil, where the pod then develops. Because of that, two things matter far more here than for most crops: the soil has to be loose and friable enough for pegs to enter easily, and the developing pod takes up its calcium directly from the soil around it — not from the leaves — which is exactly why a gypsum dose applied right at pegging does more for pod-fill than almost any other single input.
The crop's real risks are a foliar disease complex — tikka leaf spot and rust — that can strip the canopy before pods fill, and aflatoxin, a storage and food-safety contaminant that a drought-stressed, badly-dried or late-harvested crop invites. This page follows groundnut in the order you will actually meet it — land, seed, sowing, nutrition, water, protection, harvest, sale — so you can jump straight to whichever stage you are at.
Crop timeline, sowing to harvest
A quick visual map of the season — jump to any section below for the detail behind each stage.
- Day 0
Sowing
Sown at 4–5 cm depth once the monsoon has set in, June–July for the kharif crop, on a friable, well-drained bed the pegs will later have to penetrate.
- Day 6–8
Germination
Emergence is quick on warm, moist soil; a hard crust after a heavy pre-emergence shower is the commonest cause of a patchy stand here.
- Day 20–45
Critical weed-free period
Groundnut's low, spreading canopy competes poorly early on, and once pegging starts an inter-row weeding pass risks damaging the pegs — so the weeds have to be dealt with before that window closes.
- Day 25–35
Flowering
Bright yellow flowers open near the base of the plant; this is where the calcium and moisture supply for the coming pods is effectively decided.
- Day 40–50
Pegging & gypsum application
Fertilised flowers send pegs (gynophores) down into the soil — the single window to apply gypsum and earth up, since calcium is taken up directly by the developing pod, not moved down from the leaves.
- Day 60–90
Pod development & filling
Pods swell and kernels fill underground; a dry spell here both caps yield and sharply raises the end-of-season aflatoxin risk.
- Day 100–130
Maturity & harvest (lifting)
Plants are lifted, not cut, when the inside of the shell darkens and kernels colour up — timing matters, since over-mature pegs weaken and pods break off into the soil during lifting.
Suitable states
States where this crop is grown at scale, highlighted below. Your local Krishi Vigyan Kendra is still the final word for your specific block.
- Jammu and Kashmir
- Himachal Pradesh
- Punjab
- Uttarakhand
- Haryana
- Delhi
- Uttar Pradesh
- Rajasthan
- Bihar
- Jharkhand
- West Bengal
- Sikkim
- Assam
- Arunachal Pradesh
- Meghalaya
- Nagaland
- Manipur
- Mizoram
- Tripura
- Gujarat
- Madhya Pradesh
- Chhattisgarh
- Maharashtra
- Odisha
- Goa
- Telangana
- Andhra Pradesh
- Karnataka
- Kerala
- Tamil Nadu
- Puducherry
- Ladakh
- Chandigarh
Grown here
Climate requirements
The ideal groundnut season is a well-distributed monsoon through flowering and pod development followed by a dry spell at maturity — the reverse pattern, a wet, humid end to the season, both worsens leaf disease and raises the aflatoxin risk in the drying pods, which is why harvest timing is not a detail you can leave to convenience.
Ideal temperature
25–35°C through the season; germination is quick and even in this range, while flowering and pegging drop off sharply below about 20°C, which is what limits how early a spring crop can be sown
Rainfall
500–750 mm well distributed over the crop cycle for a rainfed kharif crop — enough at flowering and pegging, but a dry, rain-free spell late in the season is actually preferable at maturity, since it lets pods dry down cleanly and cuts aflatoxin risk
Humidity
Moderate humidity suits the crop; prolonged high humidity and leaf wetness through the second half of the season are what drive the tikka leaf-spot and rust complex
Sunlight
Full sun; groundnut is a warm-season crop that yields poorly under shade or a persistently cloudy monsoon
Soil requirements
Calcium status matters here in a way it does not for most crops: because the pod draws its calcium directly from the surrounding soil, a calcium-poor or acidic soil gives "pops" — empty or half-filled pods — even when the plant above ground looks healthy. A soil test for pH and calcium is worth more on groundnut than a nitrogen test.
Suitable soil
Light, well-drained sandy loam or red sandy loam is ideal — the loose, friable structure a peg needs to enter easily matters more than raw fertility; heavy black or clay soil gives good vegetative growth but makes pegging and, especially, clean lifting at harvest much harder
pH range
6.0–7.5; groundnut tolerates slightly alkaline soil but iron chlorosis becomes a real, visible problem on strongly calcareous, high-pH soil
Drainage
Very good — groundnut will not tolerate waterlogging, which rots pegs and developing pods and invites stem and collar rot; a field that ponds after heavy rain is the wrong field for this crop
Organic matter
Medium; groundnut responds well to a field left in good heart by the previous crop, but excessive fresh nitrogen-rich organic matter pushes leafy growth at the expense of pods
Land preparation
Same four steps whichever region you are in — only the timing shifts with the sowing window.
- 1
Field cleaning
Clear the previous crop's residue and weeds so the field starts clean — groundnut's slow early canopy gives weeds a long head start otherwise.
- 2
Deep ploughing
One deep summer ploughing exposes white grub, soil-borne stem-rot inoculum and weed seed to the sun, and helps the soil take up the first monsoon rain instead of shedding it.
- 3
Harrowing to a fine, loose tilth
Two or three harrowings break clods to the loose, friable tilth pegs need to penetrate — this is not an optional refinement for groundnut, since a cloddy or crusted bed physically blocks pegging and cuts pod number.
- 4
Levelling and, on heavier soil, ridge-and-furrow
Level the field for even moisture; on heavier soils, forming ridges and furrows both improves drainage and makes the later earthing-up and lifting operations easier.
Seed information
How the main varieties compare, so you can pick by duration, yield, disease pressure or what you are growing for.
| Variety | Duration | Yield | Disease resistance | Best state | Suitable for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GG-20 A Gujarat semi-spreading bold-seeded variety that became the backbone of the Saurashtra groundnut belt — dependable, widely adapted and a long-standing standard where a medium-duration kharif crop is grown. | 110–120 days | 20–25 q/ha (pods) | Field-tolerant of tikka leaf spot; moderate rust tolerance | Gujarat | Medium-duration rainfed kharif, oil extraction |
TAG-24 A Spanish-bunch, semi-dwarf variety from BARC Trombay valued for its early maturity and suitability to both the kharif and irrigated summer seasons — its compact habit makes it easy to manage and harvest. | 100–105 days | 18–22 q/ha (pods) | Moderately tolerant of leaf spot; escapes some end-season disease through earliness | Maharashtra, Karnataka | Early, short-duration and summer crops |
TG-37A A widely adapted Spanish-bunch variety from BARC Trombay, popular across several states for its stable yield and acceptability for both the kharif and summer seasons. | 100–110 days | 18–24 q/ha (pods) | Moderately tolerant of the foliar disease complex | Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh | Wide adaptation, dual-season use |
Kadiri Lepakshi (K-1812) An Andhra Pradesh (Kadiri) release bred for the rainfed conditions of the southern peninsula, with good pod and kernel quality for the region's growing tracts. | 110–115 days | 20–25 q/ha (pods) | Moderate tolerance of leaf spot and rust | Andhra Pradesh, Telangana | Rainfed southern peninsula |
Girnar-4 / Girnar-5 (high oleic) High-oleic varieties from ICAR-DGR Junagadh whose oil resists rancidity far longer — bred specifically for the confectionery and export market that pays a premium for longer shelf life, rather than for peak field yield. | 115–120 days | 18–22 q/ha (pods) | Comparable to standard checks; grown for kernel quality, not disease escape | Gujarat | Confectionery, export, longer oil shelf life |
- Seed rate
- 100–120 kg/ha of pods for bunch types (roughly 40–48 kg/acre), lower at 80–100 kg/ha for spreading types — a high rate, since a good pod yield depends on getting a dense enough plant stand established early
- Certified seed
- Hand-shell seed pods only shortly before sowing, not weeks ahead — kernels lose viability quickly once out of the shell, and rough mechanical shelling that cracks the seed coat is a common hidden cause of poor germination. Run a germination test on saved seed every season before relying on it.
- Spacing
- 30 cm row-to-row and 10 cm plant-to-plant for bunch types; wider, 45–60 cm rows, for spreading types
- Seed treatment
- Treat seed first with a fungicide (mancozeb, carbendazim or Trichoderma) against seed and soil-borne rot, then inoculate with the correct Rhizobium culture plus a PSB biofertilizer just before sowing — inoculated seed should go into the ground the same day. On white-grub-prone sandy soils, a labelled insecticidal seed treatment is added as well.
Sowing guide
Sowing depth matters both ways — too shallow and the seed dries out or germinates unevenly, too deep and emergence is slow and weak. On a crusting soil, a light irrigation or the timing of sowing relative to rain matters more than usual, since a hard crust over just-sown groundnut is a frequent cause of a thin, gappy stand.
- Best time
- Kharif: June–July, once the monsoon has genuinely set in. Summer/irrigated: January–February, sown into warming soil so flowering does not fall in the coldest weeks
- Row spacing
- 30 cm (bunch types); 45–60 cm (spreading types)
- Plant spacing
- 10 cm
- Sowing depth
- 4–5 cm
- Method
- Seed drill or hand-dibbling behind a plough for even depth and spacing; a uniform, dense stand established early is what a good pod yield depends on
Fertilizer schedule
A split dose beats one large dose applied at sowing — nitrogen especially is lost to the air and to leaching if it all goes in on day one.
- 1
Basal dose
At sowing
A low starter nitrogen dose (around 20–25 kg/ha N — the crop fixes most of its own once nodulated) with the full phosphorus and potassium (commonly 40–50 kg/ha P₂O₅ and 40–75 kg/ha K₂O), placed at sowing. Where soil is sulphur-deficient, part of the sulphur need is met here and part through gypsum at pegging.
- 2
Gypsum at pegging
~40–45 days after sowing, at the start of pegging
The signature groundnut intervention: 200–500 kg/ha of gypsum applied in the pegging zone around the plant base supplies calcium directly to the developing pods and adds sulphur. It is what fills pods properly and prevents "pops" — and its timing is fixed, because calcium is taken up by the pod, not moved down from the leaves, so a late or missed application cannot be corrected afterward.
- 3
Foliar micronutrient spray (as needed)
At flowering to early pegging, on deficient soils
A ferrous sulphate (0.5%) foliar spray corrects the iron chlorosis common on calcareous soil, and a boron spray corrects poor pod-set where soil tests show a shortfall — both at a stage too late for a fresh basal dose to help.
Irrigation schedule
1. Flowering
~25–35 days after sowing
Moisture stress here cuts the number of flowers, and therefore the number of pegs and pods the crop can ever set — the first protective irrigation to prioritise in a summer crop or a dry-spell kharif.
2. Pegging
~40–50 days after sowing
The pegs need moist, soft soil to penetrate; a dry, hard surface at this stage physically blocks pegging even where the plant is otherwise healthy.
3. Pod development & filling
~60–90 days after sowing
Decides final kernel size and oil content; a dry spell here also sharply raises aflatoxin risk, so it is the last stage to let go dry.
Critical stages
- Flowering (~25–35 days) — sets potential pod number
- Pegging (~40–50 days) — pegs need soft, moist soil to enter
- Pod development and filling (~60–90 days) — sets kernel size and cuts aflatoxin risk
Water-saving tips
- Time a late-season dry spell deliberately: withholding water in the last couple of weeks helps pods dry down and lifts cleanly — but a full drought at pod-filling is the opposite mistake and invites aflatoxin
- On a summer crop, sprinkler irrigation gives more even coverage and uses less water than flooding the light sandy soils groundnut is grown on
- If irrigation is limited, protect flowering and pegging first — the crop can tolerate mild late-season stress better than stress during peg and early pod set
Weed management
Common weeds
Organic control
- One or two hand weedings and light inter-row hoeings, but only up to the start of pegging — once pegs are entering the soil, inter-row cultivation damages them, so all weeding must be finished before that window
- A stale seedbed ahead of sowing lets the first weed flush germinate on early monsoon moisture so it can be killed before drilling
- Earthing up around the plant base at pegging both buries small weeds and loosens the soil for the pegs to enter
Chemical control
- Pre-emergence: pendimethalin within 1–2 days of sowing on moist soil
- Post-emergence, grassy weeds: quizalofop-ethyl at 15–20 days
- Post-emergence, broad-spectrum: imazethapyr at 15–20 days where both grasses and broadleaf weeds are present
Nutrient deficiency identification
What a shortage of each nutrient actually looks like on the plant, so you can tell a deficiency apart from a disease before you spray the wrong thing.
Calcium (the "pops" deficiency)
Visible symptom
Empty or half-filled pods ("pops") and dark, unfilled kernels despite a healthy-looking plant above ground — the signature groundnut deficiency, because the pod takes up calcium directly from the soil and a gypsum dose at pegging is what prevents it.
Iron
Visible symptom
Interveinal yellowing on the youngest leaves while the veins stay green — very common on calcareous, high-pH sandy soils, and corrected with a ferrous sulphate foliar spray rather than a soil dose.
Nitrogen (nodulation failure)
Visible symptom
Uniform pale yellowing and stunted growth despite the crop being a legume — usually traces to poor rhizobium nodulation on land new to groundnut, not a true soil nitrogen shortfall.
Sulphur
Visible symptom
Pale younger leaves and lower oil content in the kernel; sulphur is central to an oilseed and is part of why gypsum, which supplies both calcium and sulphur, matters so much here.
Boron
Visible symptom
Hollow or discoloured kernels ("hollow heart") and poor pod-set even where calcium is adequate — corrected with a soil or foliar boron application on tested-deficient soils.
Diseases to watch for
Symptoms, likely cause and what actually treats it — not just a spray name.
Tikka Leaf Spot (early & late)
- Symptoms
- Roundish dark brown spots on leaves — early leaf spot has a yellow halo, late leaf spot is darker and rougher on the underside; a heavy attack yellows and sheds the canopy before the pods have finished filling.
- Cause
- The fungi Cercospora arachidicola (early) and Phaeoisariopsis personata (late), favoured by humidity, leaf wetness and dew through the second half of the season.
- Treatment
- A protective fungicide spray (mancozeb, chlorothalonil, or a tebuconazole-based product) at first appearance and repeated as advised — timing the first spray to the early appearance of spots matters more than the choice of product.
- Prevention
- Grow a field-tolerant variety, rotate away from groundnut-on-groundnut, and destroy volunteer plants and crop debris that carry the fungus over between seasons.
Rust
- Symptoms
- Orange to reddish-brown powdery pustules on the underside of leaves that rupture and shed spores; often appears alongside late leaf spot and together they defoliate the crop fast.
- Cause
- The fungus Puccinia arachidis, favoured by warm, humid weather — more damaging in the southern and coastal tracts than in the drier northern belt.
- Treatment
- The same protective fungicide programme used against late leaf spot generally controls rust as well; start at first sign of pustules on the lower canopy.
- Prevention
- Scout the lower leaves from flowering onward in a humid season, and prefer varieties with at least moderate rust tolerance where rust is a regular problem.
Stem Rot / Collar Rot
- Symptoms
- Wilting plants with a white, cottony fungal growth and small mustard-seed-like bodies at the stem base (stem rot), or a blackened, rotting collar on seedlings (collar rot); plants die in patches.
- Cause
- Soil-borne fungi Sclerotium rolfsii (stem rot) and Aspergillus niger (collar rot), favoured by warm, moist soil, dense crop residue and waterlogging.
- Treatment
- No strong in-season cure once established; remove and destroy affected plants, and improve drainage to slow spread within the patch.
- Prevention
- A Trichoderma or carbendazim seed treatment, deep summer ploughing to bury inoculum, good drainage and rotation away from groundnut all reduce the baseline risk.
Peanut Bud Necrosis Disease (PBND)
- Symptoms
- Ring spots and necrotic (dead) patches on young leaves, dying growing buds, and stunted, bushy plants; infected early, a plant sets almost no pods.
- Cause
- A virus (groundnut bud necrosis virus) transmitted by thrips — the reason thrips control early in the season matters far more than the direct feeding damage would suggest.
- Treatment
- No in-season cure for an infected plant; rogue out infected plants early and control the thrips vector before symptoms spread.
- Prevention
- Timely sowing so the crop passes its vulnerable young stage before peak thrips activity, a dense stand rather than a gappy one, and early thrips management.
Pests to watch for
What to look for before the damage is visible, and organic options before you reach for a chemical.
Leaf Miner
- Identification
- Tiny caterpillars that mine inside the leaf and then web leaflets together and feed within — heavily attacked fields take on a scorched, brownish look from a distance.
- Damage
- Loss of green leaf area through flowering and pod-fill cuts the photosynthesis the crop needs to fill pods; severe, repeated attacks are a major yield drain in the southern groundnut belt.
- Organic control
- Pheromone traps for monitoring, conserving natural parasitoids by avoiding unnecessary early broad-spectrum sprays, and a neem-based spray against young larvae.
- Chemical control
- A labelled insecticide (e.g. quinalphos or chlorantraniliprole) once webbed leaflets and mining are widespread, timed to young larvae rather than after heavy scorching.
White Grub
- Identification
- Fat, white, C-shaped grubs in the soil that feed on roots and developing pods, unseen until plants begin wilting and dying in patches — a serious, hard-to-spot pest of the light sandy soils groundnut favours.
- Damage
- Root and pod feeding kills plants in patches and directly destroys pods underground, a loss that is often blamed on drought until the field is dug and the grubs found.
- Organic control
- Deep summer ploughing to expose grubs to birds and sun, light traps to catch the adult beetles at the start of the monsoon, and destroying beetle-harbouring host trees near the field.
- Chemical control
- A labelled insecticidal seed treatment or soil application at sowing is the practical control, since once grubs are feeding underground a foliar spray cannot reach them.
Thrips
- Identification
- Tiny slender insects on young leaves and buds causing silvery streaks and curling; easy to overlook against the greater importance of the virus they carry.
- Damage
- Direct feeding is minor — the real damage is that thrips transmit peanut bud necrosis virus, so an early buildup shows up later as bud necrosis with no in-season fix.
- Organic control
- Blue sticky traps for monitoring, a dense timely-sown stand, and conserving natural predators by limiting early broad-spectrum sprays.
- Chemical control
- A systemic insecticide early in the season where bud necrosis is a known local problem — the aim is preventing virus spread, not just the feeding damage.
Red Hairy Caterpillar
- Identification
- Large, reddish-brown hairy caterpillars that appear in swarms with the early monsoon and feed voraciously on the young crop, moving field to field.
- Damage
- A swarm can defoliate a young groundnut crop within days, sometimes forcing a re-sowing — mostly a problem in the early kharif in parts of the southern and central belt.
- Organic control
- Light traps and bonfires at dusk to catch the emerging adult moths at the start of the monsoon, and hand-collection of the gregarious young larvae before they disperse.
- Chemical control
- A labelled insecticide spray or bait against young larvae, most effective while the caterpillars are still clustered rather than spread across the field.
Common mistakes to avoid
The mistakes that cost growers the most, ranked by how often they show up in the field — not in the order you might expect.
- 1
Missing or delaying the gypsum application at pegging
Why it hurts
The single most groundnut-specific mistake — because the pod takes up calcium directly from the soil around it, a late or skipped gypsum dose cannot be fixed afterward and shows up as "pops," empty and half-filled pods, even on a plant that looked healthy above ground.
- 2
Sowing into a cloddy, crusted or heavy seedbed
Why it hurts
Pegs cannot penetrate a hard or cloddy surface, so pods never set however well the plant grows above ground — a fine, loose tilth is not an optional refinement for groundnut the way it might be for a cereal.
- 3
Weeding or hoeing between rows after pegging has started
Why it hurts
Inter-row cultivation once pegs are entering the soil breaks them off and destroys the pods they would have formed — all weeding has to be finished before the pegging window opens.
- 4
Letting the crop go into full drought stress at pod-filling
Why it hurts
Beyond the direct yield loss, drought stress at pod-fill is exactly the condition that lets Aspergillus flavus colonise the kernels and produce aflatoxin — a food-safety contaminant that can make the whole lot unsaleable, not just lower-yielding.
- 5
Harvesting late or drying pods slowly and in a damp heap
Why it hurts
Over-mature pegs weaken and drop pods into the soil during lifting, and slow, damp drying is the other main aflatoxin trigger — the crop needs to be lifted on time and dried quickly to a safe moisture, not left in a wet windrow.
- 6
Ignoring the tikka leaf-spot and rust complex until the canopy is already scorched
Why it hurts
Once the leaves have yellowed and dropped, the pods stop filling — the fungicide programme has to start at the first appearance of spots on the lower canopy, not after the field looks burnt from a distance.
- 7
Applying a cereal-level nitrogen dose out of habit
Why it hurts
Groundnut is a legume and fixes most of its own nitrogen once nodulated; a heavy nitrogen dose wastes money, pushes leafy growth at the expense of pods, and can suppress the nodulation the crop should be relying on.
- 8
Shelling seed weeks ahead of sowing, or shelling it roughly
Why it hurts
Groundnut kernels lose viability quickly once out of the shell, and mechanical shelling that cracks the seed coat quietly wrecks germination — a thin stand traced to "bad seed" is very often really a shelling and storage problem.
- 9
Growing groundnut on the same land season after season
Why it hurts
Continuous groundnut builds up soil-borne stem rot and collar rot inoculum and white-grub populations that the next groundnut crop walks straight into, and forfeits the rotation benefit of the crop's nitrogen fixation.
- 10
Ignoring iron chlorosis on calcareous soil as just "poor growth"
Why it hurts
The interveinal yellowing on young leaves on high-pH sandy soil is a specific, correctable iron deficiency — a couple of timely ferrous sulphate foliar sprays recover the crop, whereas a wrongly-guessed soil dose of iron on alkaline soil largely locks up and does little.
Harvesting
When the older leaves yellow and shed, the inside of the shell darkens and shows its veining, and the kernels have coloured up to the variety's type — usually 100–130 days after sowing. Digging a few sample plants to check pod maturity is more reliable than going by leaf colour alone.
Signs it is ready
- Older leaves yellow and begin to drop
- Inner shell darkens with visible veining and the kernel skin takes on its mature colour
- A majority of pods on sample plants have filled kernels rather than "pops"
Tools
- Blade harrow or a groundnut digger to lift plants without breaking pods off into the soil
- Hand-lifting on lighter soil and smaller holdings, pulling the whole plant with pods attached
- A mechanical thresher/stripper or hand-stripping to separate pods after a few days of field drying
Expected yield
15–25 q/ha of pods (in-shell) for a rainfed kharif crop under normal management; a well-managed irrigated summer crop with a good variety can reach 30–35 q/ha.
Post-harvest & storage
Storage
Dry pods quickly to about 8–9% moisture (kernels around 7%) before storing — this is the single most important step against aflatoxin, since Aspergillus flavus colonises damp, slowly-dried or drought-stressed kernels. Store dried pods, not shelled kernels, in a cool, dry, well-ventilated space, and never heap freshly-lifted pods in a damp pile.
Packaging
Jute or breathable HDPE bags kept off a damp floor; store as unshelled pods where possible, since the shell protects the kernel and slows quality loss.
Transportation
Move only properly dried produce and keep it dry in transit — reintroducing moisture to dried pods can restart mould growth and aflatoxin build-up even after good field drying.
Shelf life
Well-dried pods store for several months; shelled kernels have a much shorter safe life, and high-oil groundnut turns rancid faster once shelled — high-oleic varieties like Girnar-4 were bred specifically to extend that kernel and oil shelf life.
Market prices
Today's mandi price near you, pulled live from the government's own Agmarknet data.
Live daily mandi prices from the government Agmarknet dataset.
Synced from data.gov.in (Agmarknet). Rates are ₹ per quintal.
Weather
Current conditions and a 5-day outlook for your selected location, with one line of stage-aware advice.
Pick your state for current conditions and a 5-day outlook.
Live data from Open-Meteo
Profit calculator
Your own cost sheet, expected yield and selling price — not ours.
Where the money goes
Share of the total cost per acre, using the calculator’s own default cost sheet below — adjust the numbers there to match your field and this picture will no longer apply to you exactly, but the ranking rarely changes.
- Land rent33% (₹10,000)
- Labour20% (₹6,000)
- Seed15% (₹4,500)
- Machinery10% (₹3,000)
- Fertiliser8% (₹2,500)
- Pesticide & weedicide7% (₹2,000)
- Irrigation5% (₹1,500)
- Interest3% (₹800)
Official downloads
Government and ICAR documents only — everything below is hosted on an official server.
ICAR-DGR — Directorate of Groundnut Research, Junagadh
Package of practices, variety releases and advisories from the ICAR institute mandated for groundnut research.
Farmer Portal — crop advisories
Government of India's farmer portal, including season-specific advisories and market information.
Soil Health Card portal
Get a free, crop-wise fertilizer and (importantly for groundnut) pH and calcium reading for your own field before finalising the schedule above.
mKisan — SMS advisory portal
Register for free SMS advisories timed to your crop stage and district.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best time to sow groundnut?
For the kharif crop, June–July once the monsoon has genuinely set in. For an irrigated summer crop, January–February, sown into warming soil so that flowering does not fall in the coldest weeks. Groundnut needs warm soil to germinate and set pegs well.
How much seed do I need per acre?
About 40–48 kg of pods per acre (100–120 kg/ha) for bunch types, somewhat less for spreading types. A high rate matters because a good pod yield depends on establishing a dense enough stand early.
What is pegging, and why does everyone stress the gypsum at that stage?
After a groundnut flower is fertilised, its stalk elongates into a "peg" that grows down and pushes into the soil, where the pod then develops underground. The pod draws its calcium directly from the soil around it — not from the leaves — so gypsum applied right at the start of pegging (around 40–45 days) is what fills the pods and prevents empty "pops." Its timing is fixed; a late application cannot be corrected later.
Why are my pods empty or half-filled even though the plants looked healthy?
That is the classic calcium-shortage symptom — "pops." Because the developing pod takes up calcium from the surrounding soil rather than from the plant, a calcium-poor or acidic soil, or a missed gypsum dose at pegging, gives empty and half-filled pods even on a plant that looks fine above ground. A soil test for pH and calcium, and gypsum at pegging, is the fix.
What soil is best for groundnut?
A light, well-drained sandy loam. The loose, friable structure a peg needs to enter the soil matters more than raw fertility, and groundnut will not tolerate waterlogging. Heavy black or clay soils grow leafy plants but make both pegging and clean lifting at harvest much harder.
How much fertilizer and how much nitrogen does groundnut need?
A low starter nitrogen dose of around 20–25 kg/ha — the crop is a legume and fixes most of its own nitrogen once nodulated — with roughly 40–50 kg/ha phosphorus and 40–75 kg/ha potassium at sowing, plus gypsum at pegging for calcium and sulphur. A heavy cereal-style nitrogen dose is wasted here and pushes leaf at the expense of pods.
How many irrigations does groundnut need?
A kharif crop is mostly rainfed; a summer crop needs roughly 8–10 irrigations. Either way the critical stages to protect are flowering (~25–35 days), pegging (~40–50 days) and pod-filling (~60–90 days). A mild dry spell right at maturity is actually helpful, since it dries pods down and lowers aflatoxin risk.
What is aflatoxin and how do I avoid it?
Aflatoxin is a toxin produced by the fungus Aspergillus flavus, which colonises kernels that were drought-stressed at pod-fill, harvested late, or dried slowly in a damp heap. It is a food-safety contaminant that can make a lot unsaleable, not just lower-yielding. Avoid it by not letting the crop go into full drought at pod-fill, lifting on time, and drying pods quickly to about 8–9% moisture.
What is the current MSP for groundnut?
₹7,517 per quintal for KMS (Kharif Marketing Season) 2026–27, as notified by the Government of India. MSP is revised every season, so check the current notification before selling.
What yield can I realistically expect from groundnut?
15–25 quintals of pods (in-shell) per hectare for a rainfed kharif crop under normal management; a well-managed irrigated summer crop with a good variety can reach 30–35 q/ha. A crop hit by drought at pod-fill, heavy leaf disease or white grub yields well below that.
When and how should I harvest groundnut?
When the older leaves yellow and shed and the inside of the shell has darkened with visible veining, usually 100–130 days after sowing — check by digging a few sample plants rather than going by leaf colour alone. Lift the plants with a blade harrow or digger rather than pulling hard, so mature pegs do not snap and leave pods in the soil.
How do I store groundnut so it keeps well?
Dry the pods quickly to about 8–9% moisture, then store them unshelled in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place off a damp floor. Storing dried pods rather than shelled kernels, and never heaping freshly-lifted pods in a damp pile, is the main defence against both quality loss and aflatoxin.
Which groundnut variety should I choose?
It depends on your region and season. GG-20 is a dependable medium-duration standard in Gujarat; TAG-24 and TG-37A are early Spanish-bunch types that suit both kharif and summer; Kadiri Lepakshi suits the rainfed southern peninsula; and Girnar-4/5 are high-oleic types grown for the confectionery and export market rather than peak yield. Prefer a variety with at least moderate leaf-spot and rust tolerance where those are regular problems.
Do I need to inoculate groundnut seed with rhizobium?
On land that has grown groundnut or another legume recently, an established rhizobium population may already be present, but inoculation is cheap insurance and is close to essential on land new to the crop. A poorly nodulated crop behaves like any nitrogen-starved plant, with no cheap way to fix it afterward.
Why do the young leaves on my groundnut turn yellow between the veins?
That is iron chlorosis, very common on calcareous, high-pH sandy soils. Correct it with one or two ferrous sulphate (0.5%) foliar sprays — a soil dose of iron on alkaline soil largely locks up and does little, so the foliar route is the effective one.
Can I insure my groundnut crop, and does it qualify for PM-KISAN?
Yes to both in the usual way — groundnut is covered under PMFBY (Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana), with the kharif farmer premium capped at 2% of the sum insured, and PM-KISAN is not crop-specific, so any eligible landholding farmer family qualifies regardless of crop. See the Related schemes section below.
Is groundnut a heavy water user?
No — the kharif crop is grown mostly on monsoon rainfall, and even a summer crop's 8–10 irrigations are modest against rice or sugarcane. What groundnut is sensitive to is the timing of water: stress at flowering, pegging and pod-fill costs yield, while a dry spell at maturity is actually beneficial.
Still have questions?
The FAQs above cover the common ones. For anything specific to your field and soil, your nearest Krishi Vigyan Kendra is the authoritative answer.