Determining the Effect of Various Land Configurations and Spacings on Growth and Yield of Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in Semi-arid Zone of Andhra Pradesh, India

Background: The sparse rainfall zone of Andhra Pradesh has issues such as insufficient moistureavailability and proper crop stand for successful agricultural production, resulting in partial or whole crop failure and the occurrence of mild to severe drought. To prevent yield losses, adequate spacing and land configuration are essential. Optimum spacing for getting better yield is required as right amount of space between the plants is quite important as each plant needs a certain amount of room for their roots and leaves to maximize the growth.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to find the optimum spacing and suitable land configuration for maximizing groundnut yield.

Methods: The field experiment was carried out at Agricultural College Farm, Mahanandhi, during rabi 2021-2022 to study the performance of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) to different land configurations and spacings on sandy loam soils. The experiment was laid out in strip plot design with two factors each having four treatments and replicated thrice.

Results: The results revealed that the growth parameters viz., plant height, dry matter accumulation, LAI and number of branches were recorded higher with the land configurations corrugation, flat bed with crop compaction, ridges and furrows and flat bed with crop compaction, respectively. Spacing 30 x 10 cm recorded taller plants, higher dry matter accumulation and LAI and more number of branches were observed with 60 x 10 cm spacing. Among different interactions treatment combination ridge and furrow with 30 x 10 cm spacing, flat bed with crop compaction with 30 x 10 cm spacing, flat bed with crop compaction with 60 x 10 cm spacing has recorded taller plants, higher dry matter accumulation, LAI and more number of branches, respectively. Higher pod was yield obtained with narrow spacing, may be due to the presence of more plant population per unit area which compensated the reduced number of pods per plant in narrow spacing and land configuration flat bed with crop compaction has improved the pod yield by providing better peg penetration and pod development. For groundnut crops, flat bed with crop compaction spaced 30 x 10 cm can be recommended to provide greater yields.