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Oilseed Crops · Oilseed

Growing groundnut

Arachis hypogaea · also called moongphaliA warm-season legume whose flowers push pegs into the soil, where the pods form. Grown for oil and snacks in the kharif across most of India, and in rabi and summer where water allows.

Cold desert: Ladakh, Lahaul and Spiti

Our team has checked this guide against the sources at the end of the page.The growing season in Ladakh and Spiti is too short and its nights too cold for groundnut, which needs a long warm season.Includes AI suggestions where no published guide covers a detail
Dry groundnut pods in their shells, heaped on a sheet with a small tub
Photo: David E Mead · CC0
Not suited here

Not a crop for this region

The growing season in Ladakh and Spiti is too short and its nights too cold for groundnut, which needs a long warm season.

Where it grows nearest

Across India

When to sow it

Twelve growing regions, January to December. Your region comes first.

Not suited here

Sowing now in:North-east hills and valleys
  • Sow
  • Harvest
  • Today
  • Not suited here
Cold desertLadakh, Lahaul and SpitiNot suited hereTemperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, KulluNot suited hereSub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, Dehradun
Compare all 12 regions
Temperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, KulluNot suited hereSub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, DehradunNorth-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, DelhiGangetic plainseastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal plainsNorth-east hills and valleysAssam, Meghalaya, SikkimArid westRajasthan, Kutch, north GujaratCentral plateauMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, VidarbhaDeccan plateauinterior Maharashtra, Telangana, north KarnatakaSouth interiorBengaluru, Mysuru, interior Tamil NaduWest coastKerala, Goa, KonkanEast coastcoastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, coastal Andhra
Today
See the dates as a table
RegionSowNurseryTransplantHarvest
Cold desertNot suited here
Temperate HimalayaNot suited here
Sub-tropical foothillsMarch to AprilFirst half of JuneLast week of June to first week of JulyOctober to early November
North-west plainsSecond half of FebruaryEnd of April to end of MayLast week of June to first week of JulyEnd of June to early JulyEnd of August to early SeptemberEarly November
Gangetic plainsLate June to early JulyFebruary to early MarchOctober to early NovemberLate May to June
North-east hills and valleysMarch to AprilLate October to NovemberLate July to AugustLate February to March
Arid westLate June to early JulyLate January to FebruaryOctober to early NovemberMay to early June
Central plateauLate June to early JulyLate January to FebruaryOctoberMay
Deccan plateauMid June to mid JulyMid January to mid FebruarySecond half of SeptemberOctober to early NovemberLate May to June
South interiorJune to JulyJuly to AugustDecember to JanuaryApril to MayOctober to NovemberApril to early May
West coastMay to JuneJanuary to MaySeptember to October
East coastJune to JulyJuly to AugustDecember to JanuaryFebruary to MarchOctober to NovemberApril to early MayLate May to June

What it needs

Soil, sun and warmth

  • Soil pH1,2Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

    6 to 7.5

    Well drained sandy soil over a loamy subsoil suits a rainfed crop. With irrigation, loamy sand, sandy loam and loam also do. Keep the soil loose so the pegs can push in.

  • SunlightNo published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

    At least 6 hours a day

    Full sun in an open field.

  • TemperatureNo published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

    Grows best at 22 to 30 °C

    Frost: none tolerated.

    Monthly temperatures for the Cold desert aren't in the library yet.

Good neighbours2

Grows well with

Seed and the season's end

Saving seed1,2,3

Pull out off-type plants once the crop is fully grown and again at harvest.

When the seed is ready

Most leaves turn yellow and older ones drop. Inside the shell, dark lines appear and the kernels take their pink colour.

Cleaning the seed

Keep the seed in its pods. Shell healthy, well filled pods by hand about two weeks before sowing and drop small, shrivelled or blemished kernels.

Dry the pods until the kernels hold about 7% moisture. Store them in polythene-lined gunny bags on a raised platform, without sealing or stitching the bags.

After the last picking2,3

The haulms make good fodder for livestock.

Rotation

Do not grow groundnut in the same field year after year: soil-borne diseases build up. Rotating with sorghum, pearl millet, rice or maize lowers leaf spot, rust and bud necrosis; wheat, cotton, maize, onion or garlic lower soil-borne diseases.

Sources

Where this comes from

Our team has checked this guide against the sources at the end of the page.Reviewed by our team on 13 November 2026.

These published guides are the sources. Where none of them covers a detail for this region, the page shows an AI suggestion and labels it.

  1. 3AESA based IPM package: GroundnutNational Institute of Plant Health Management (NIPHM) with the Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, Ministry of AgricultureRead the source
  2. 4Crop Production: Oilseeds: Groundnut (irrigated and rainfed)TNAU Agritech Portal, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, CoimbatoreRead the source

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