Critical stage based irrigation scheduling and crop management practices for the maximization of rainfed groundnut productivity and economics in red loam soil

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is one of the most important oilseed crops of India, valued for its dual role as a source of edible oil and high-quality protein. Optimizing irrigation and fertilizer application is crucial therefore, integrating critical-stage-based irrigation scheduling with comprehensive crop management practices to sustainably intensify groundnut production under water-limited conditions. Keeping in view, field experiment was conducted during Kharif, 2024 in the farmer’s field at Perampattu Village, Tirupattur District, Tamilnadu, India. The experiments were set up using strip plot design, having 4 irrigation stages viz., no Irrigation (I1), Irrigation at flowering and pod filling stages (I2), Irrigation at pegging and pod filling stages (I3), Irrigation at flowering, pegging and pod filling stages (I4) in the main plot and 7 crop management practices, viz., absolute control (S1), RDF alone (10:10:45 kg ha-1 of NPK) (S2), INM (RDF + poultry manure compost 1 t ha-1 + Micro nutrient mixture 12.5 kg ha-1) (S3), RDF + paddy straw mulch @ 5 t ha-1 + foliar application of K @ 0.5% (S4), RDF+ kaolin @ 1% + foliar application of K @ 0.5% (S5), INM + paddy straw mulch @ 5 t ha-1 + foliar application of K @ 0.5% (S6), INM + kaolin @ 1% + foliar application of K @ 0.5% (S7) in subplot, replicated thrice. The highest pod yield (2865 Kg ha-1), haulm yield (4240 Kg ha-1) and BCR (2.87) of groundnut was recorded in the treatment of Irrigation at flowering, pegging and pod filling stages along with INM + paddy straw mulch @ 5 t ha-1 + foliar application of K @ 0.5% (I4S6). The lowest pod yield (505 Kg ha-1), haulm yield (914 Kg ha-1) and BCR (1.06) of groundnut were recorded under the combination of no irrigation with absolute control (I1S1).