Groundnut (Peanut)

1. Land Preparation Groundnut needs loose, sandy soil so the pegs can enter the ground and form pods. Plough deep and keep the soil friable — pods will not form in a hard crust, no matter how healthy the plant looks. 2.

Kharif Sowing Jun–Jul Harvest Nov–Dec 20–30 maund per acre

Land Preparation

Groundnut needs loose, sandy soil so the pegs can enter the ground and form pods. Plough deep and keep the soil friable — pods will not form in a hard crust, no matter how healthy the plant looks.

Sowing Time & Method

Barani Pothohar: late June to mid-July with the monsoon. Rows 12 inches apart, seeds 6 inches apart, 2 inches deep.

Seed Rate & Treatment

35–40 kg per acre of shelled kernels. Shell only a few days before sowing — shelled groundnut loses germination quickly. Treat against collar rot.

Fertilizer

One bag DAP at sowing. Gypsum at flowering is the key input — calcium is needed where the pods form, and without it pods stay empty.

Irrigation

Mostly rainfed in Pothohar. Where irrigated, water at pegging and pod filling and stop two weeks before digging.

Weed Control

Weed Damage Control Product
Horse Purslane (Itsit) Takes over the open ground between the rows after every rain and drinks the moisture the crop needs at pegging. Hoeing at 25 days, well before pegging starts
Purple Nutsedge (Deela) Its tubers crowd the very layer the pegs enter and take the nitrogen and moisture at pegging, so fewer pods set. Hoe it out at 25 days, while there is still time; once pegging starts, pull by hand only
Bermuda Grass (Khabbal) Its runners mat the surface at pegging so the pegs cannot push in cleanly, and fewer pods form. Pick the runners and roots out during land preparation
Crowfoot Grass (Makra) Comes up thick with the monsoon and takes the water while the pods are filling, so the kernels stay small. Hoe at 25 days; take the second hoeing at 45 days only if the pegs have not yet started down, and after that pull by hand
Tandla (False Amaranth) Grows above the low groundnut canopy and shades it while the pods are forming, so the pods fill light. Pull out by hand before it flowers, so it cannot seed the next groundnut crop

Two hoeings, at 25 and 45 days. Do not hoe after pegging begins or you break the pegs entering the soil.

Insect Pests

White grub eats the roots and is the main soil pest in Pothohar. Termite attacks pods in dry spells. Aphid and jassid on the foliage.

Diseases

Tikka leaf spot is the common one — dark spots with a yellow halo, spreading from the lower leaves upward. Collar rot kills seedlings where untreated seed is used.

Harvesting

Dig when the inside of the shell shows dark veins and the kernel skin has coloured. Digging too early gives shrivelled kernels; too late and pods break off in the soil.