Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management Practices on Growth and Yield of Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in an Alfisols of Tamiraparani Tract

Abstract

Background: Groundnut, an important oilseed crop, has been losing its area on the cropping map of the state agriculture, owing to favourable production and marketing environment for other crops like maize. The trends in area, production and yield of groundnut, its relative profitability and factors affecting productivity in the state. The area under groundnut in Tamil Nadu and India has turned negative over the years although the productivity of the crop was constantly increasing. The current study aimed to evaluate the soil test crop response integrated nutrient management package on the growth and yield of groundnut. Methods: A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of integrated nutrient management practices on growth and yield of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) during Rabi (September to December) 2019 and 2020 at Agricultural College and Research Institute, Killikulam, Thoothukudi with the test crop of groundnut variety TMV (Gn) 13. The 10 treatments consisted of 2 levels of 75 and 100% Soil Test Crop Response (STCR) based recommended fertilizers i.e. 38 : 64 : 94 NPK kg ha-1, 3 sources of organic manures (Poultry manure @ 3 t ha-1, Humic acid @ 20 kg ha-1 and Rhizobium @ 3 kg ha-1) along with absolute control receiving no organic or inorganic sources. Result: The result revealed that application of 75% STCR + Rhizobium @ 3 kg ha-1 + Humic acid @ 20 kg ha-1 + Poultry manure @ 3 t ha-1 (T8) increased growth and yield attributes contributing significantly to higher productivity (2964 and 8975 kg ha-1 of mean pod and haulm yield, respectively) and nutrient uptake of groundnut besides enriching soil available nutrients after harvest of groundnut. Due to the cheap cost of manuring, that treatment also recorded the highest mean net returns (₹ 72,706 ha-1) and B:C ratio (2.47).