Groundnut
Sow in November, harvest around March
Sowing time is now.
Grown on 107 acres here. Sold at 2 mandis in your district.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Doesn't suit: Too dry without irrigation
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.
Needs about 410 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 30 mm it can use in a normal year (10 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 0 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Temperature
Grows best at 22–32 °C on average, and survives 10–45 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Nov 27 °C / 18 °C
- Dec 27 °C / 16 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 28 °C / 16 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 31 °C / 17 °C
Months in orange are outside its best range.
Soil
Soil for Groundnut: 8 out of 10 (good).
- The pH here suits it.
- Low nitrogen matters less: it makes its own.
- Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
Likes pH 5.5–6.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 4.3 quintals an acre here (district figures).
Rain gives it too little of the water it needs, so there's no income figure on rain alone: grow it only with irrigation.
Mandi price at last season's harvest (March–April 2026): about ₹4,500 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹8,024 a quintal, the middle of 21 mandis in your state (latest 12 Nov).
Minimum support price: ₹7,517 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
Prices are usually best in September.
Typical costs are about ₹40,000 an acre (seed, fertiliser, labour and hired machines, from the government's cost survey). They are spent whatever the harvest.
How to make it work
The better districts with similar soil, rain and warmth get 9.0 quintals an acre. That's a realistic target.
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Short of organic carbon Your soil is likely short of organic carbon.
Add 4 tonnes of compost or farmyard manure per acre before sowing, and plough crop leftovers back in instead of burning them.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 35%
- Urea 22%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 13%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 0%