Groundnut
Sow in November, harvest around March
Sowing time is now.
No figures for this season in your district. Sold at 10 mandis in your district.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Doesn't suit: Too dry without irrigation
- Doesn't suit: Too cold here in this season
- 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 320 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 0 mm it can use in a normal year, and 0 mm in a dry year.
Temperature
Grows best at 22–32 °C on average, and survives 10–45 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Nov 31 °C / 12 °C (outside its best range)
- Dec 26 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
- Jan 23 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)
- Feb 28 °C / 10 °C (outside its best range)
Nights in January can bring frost. When frost is forecast, water the field lightly in the evening.
Soil
Soil for Groundnut: 8 out of 10 (good).
Not in the score: nitrogen, sulphur and boron.
- The pH here suits it.
- Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
- Most fields here are short of zinc.
- Most fields here are short of iron.
Likes pH 5.5–6.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 10 quintals an acre here in its other seasons (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 ₹6,435 a quintal at mandis in your district.
This week: about ₹7,300 a quintal, the middle of 6 mandis in your district (latest 13 Nov).
Minimum support price: ₹7,517 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹5,530 2021
- ₹5,740 2022
- ₹6,400 2023
- ₹5,280 2024
- ₹5,140 2025
Prices are usually best in November.
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 8.2 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.
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Short of zinc Your soil is likely short of zinc.
Mix 10 kg of zinc sulphate per acre into the soil before sowing. One dose lasts two or three seasons.
About 32% of local fields of this crop get it.
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Short of iron Your soil is likely short of iron.
Spray ferrous sulphate, 5 g per litre of water, when young leaves turn yellow.
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) 82%
- Urea 68%
- Zinc Sulphate Heptahydrate / Monohydrate 32%
- Single Super Phosphate (SSP) 17%