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.
Deccan plateau: interior Maharashtra, Telangana, north Karnataka
At a glance
Groundnut in the Deccan plateau
Kharif sown mid June to mid July; summer sown mid January to mid February; a rabi crop in late September at Rahuri6
Phule Unnati takes 110 to 115 days in kharif and 120 to 128 in summer. Summer varieties: TPG-41 130 days, B-95 135 to 140.6
Mid June to mid July6
Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Across India
When to sow it
Twelve growing regions, January to December. Your region comes first.
Too late this season
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- Sow
- Harvest
- Today
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See the dates as a table
| Region | Sow | Nursery | Transplant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deccan plateau | Mid June to mid JulyMid January to mid FebruarySecond half of September | October to early NovemberLate May to June | ||
| Temperate Himalaya | Not suited here | |||
| Cold desert | Not suited here | |||
| Sub-tropical foothills | March to AprilFirst half of JuneLast week of June to first week of July | October to early November | ||
| North-west plains | Second half of FebruaryEnd of April to end of MayLast week of June to first week of July | End of June to early JulyEnd of August to early SeptemberEarly November | ||
| Gangetic plains | Late June to early JulyFebruary to early March | October to early NovemberLate May to June | ||
| North-east hills and valleys | March to AprilLate October to November | Late July to AugustLate February to March | ||
| Arid west | Late June to early JulyLate January to February | October to early NovemberMay to early June | ||
| Central plateau | Late June to early JulyLate January to February | OctoberMay | ||
| South interior | June to JulyJuly to AugustDecember to JanuaryApril to May | October to NovemberApril to early May | ||
| West coast | May to JuneJanuary to May | September to October | ||
| East coast | June to JulyJuly to AugustDecember to JanuaryFebruary to March | October to NovemberApril to early MayLate May to June | ||
From seed to harvest
One season, day by day
Days from sowing
Day 0
Sow
basal
Farmyard manure
7.5 tonnes per hectare
Apply as a basal dose (summer crop)
at sowing
Liquid Rhizobium and PSB culture
25 mL per kg of seed
Treat the seed before sowing (summer crop)
Day 0
Sow
Farmyard manure
7.5 tonnes per hectare · Apply as a basal dose (summer crop)
Liquid Rhizobium and PSB culture6
25 mL per kg of seed · Treat the seed before sowing (summer crop)
Day 6 to 10
Seeds come up1,2Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Day 110 to 115
Last picking6
Water every 10 to 15 days, more at flowering, pegging and pod development.No published guide covers this for the Deccan plateau, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
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 Deccan plateau, 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 Deccan plateau, 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 Deccan plateau aren't in the library yet.
Water and feeding
WateringNo published guide covers this for the Deccan plateau, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Rainfed in the monsoon. Water if rain fails at flowering, pegging or pod filling, and keep the soil moist but never waterlogged. Summer crops need water every 10 to 15 days on light soil.
Weeding6
Two intercultivations at 30 and 45 days after sowing and one hand weeding at 50 days.
| When | What | How much | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| basal | Farmyard manure | 7.5 tonnes per hectare | Apply as a basal dose (summer crop) |
| at sowing | Liquid Rhizobium and PSB culture | 25 mL per kg of seed | Treat the seed before sowing (summer crop) |
Varieties and yield
25 to 30 quintals a hectare
Yields vary with the plot, the seed and the season.
Phule Unnati (RHRG 6083)
Spanish bunch, kharif and summer, western Maharashtra
Phule 6021 (RHRG 6021)
Spanish bunch, summer
TPG-41
Bold seeded, summer, 130 days
B-95
Summer, 135 to 140 days
Good neighbours2
Grows well with
Pests and diseases3
Organic and cultural controls only.
White grub
What to do
- Plough deep in summer to expose grubs
- Sow on time with the pre-monsoon showers
- Collect and destroy the beetles on ber (jujube) or neem trees around the field right after the early rains
Termite
What to do
- Apply castor cake or neem cake at 250 kg per hectare to the soil
Leaf miner
What to do
- Watch with pheromone traps, 5 a hectare
- Spray 5% neem seed kernel extract when needed
Tobacco caterpillar and gram pod borer
What to do
- Watch with pheromone traps, 5 a hectare
- Collect and destroy egg masses and young caterpillars
- Spray 5% neem seed kernel extract when many eggs and young caterpillars are seen
- Plant a few castor or sunflower plants as a trap crop
Red hairy caterpillar
Signs
A regional pest in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
What to do
- Where it is common, run light traps (12 a hectare) or bonfires
- Collect and destroy egg masses
- Dig trenches to stop and destroy migrating caterpillars
Aphids
What to do
- Conserve ladybird beetles, lacewings, spiders and other natural enemies
Early and late leaf spot (tikka) and rust
What to do
- Rotate with sorghum, pearl millet, rice or maize after a kharif crop
- Spray 5% neem seed kernel extract when needed
Stem rot, collar rot and root rot
What to do
- Treat seed with Trichoderma viride at 10 g per kg of seed
- Apply castor cake or neem cake at 250 kg per hectare to the soil
- Plough deep in summer
Bud necrosis
What to do
- Pull out infected plants
- Intercrop with castor, 3 to 6 rows of groundnut to 1 of castor, to cut thrips
- Sow a little denser where it is common
Aflatoxin mould (Aspergillus flavus)
Prevention
- Where water is available, avoid drought of more than 20 days while pods mature
- Harvest neither early nor late
- Dry kernels to about 7% moisture
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 picking3
Feed the haulms to livestock. After a kharif crop, follow with sorghum, pearl millet, rice or maize to cut leaf spot, rust and bud necrosis, or with wheat, cotton, maize, onion or garlic to cut soil-borne disease.
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.
- AESA based IPM package: GroundnutNational Institute of Plant Health Management (NIPHM) with the Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, Ministry of AgricultureRead the source
- Crop Production: Oilseeds: Groundnut (irrigated and rainfed)TNAU Agritech Portal, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, CoimbatoreRead the source
- All India Coordinated Research Project on Groundnut (summer): varieties and recommendationsMahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, RahuriRead the source
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