Efficient Management of Dry Spells with Supplemental Irrigation for Maximum Productivity of Groundnut in Arid Alfisols of South India

Abstract

Field experiments were conducted during kharif 2009 and 2010 at the Agricultural Research Station, Anantapur, located in the scarce rainfall zone of Andhra Pradesh in south India to assess the effect of dry spells or moisture stress at different crop growth stages on yield attributes, pod yield, and haulm yield of groundnut. The study was conducted in a 3-factor split-split plot design with conditions of (1) rainfed and irrigated as two main plots; (2) stress imposed during 30–50, 50–70, 70–90 days in 2009 and 50–90 days after sowing (DAS) in 2010 and “no stress” as four subplots; and (3) four varieties—ICGV-91114, K-6, TMV-2, and Narayani—as sub-subplots. Among varieties, Narayani gave significantly higher oil content compared with other varieties in both years. Among the stress conditions, significantly higher pod yield was attained under the no-stress condition compared with the stress that occurred during 70–90 DAS, but it was statistically at par with the stress that occurred during 30–50 and 50–70 DAS in 2009. In 2010, significantly higher pod yield was attained under the no-stress condition compared with the stress that occurred during 50–90 DAS. Among varieties, ICGV-91114 attained significantly higher pod yield compared with K-6 and TMV-2, but was at par with Narayani in 2009. However, the pod yields of varieties did not differ significantly in 2010. Among different growth stages of groundnut, maximum pod yield reduction was observed when the stress was imposed at the pod-to-kernel development stage, followed by the pod development stage (70–90 DAS) and the flowering stage (30–50 DAS) compared with no stress. Varieties ICGV-91114 and Narayani were drought resistant because of higher yield attributes, yield, and water use efficiency, and they could be recommended for cultivation under arid alfisols of southern India.