Groundnut, peanut or monkey nut is an important kharif oilseed crop and occupies second largest area among oilseed crops. It is cultivated in barani areas of Punjab, the NWFP, and on irrigated areas of Sindh. Sandy soils are suitable for groundnut cultivation. The plant is a self-pollinated and grows up to 50cm.

It can help in providing carbohydrates, protein, glycerides and other chemical compounds which are necessary for development and growth. It contains 50 per cent edible oil, 25 per cent carbohydrates and also some quantity of soluble water, fibres and minerals. The edible oil from groundnut can easily cover the gap between demand and supply of edible oil in Pakistan.

It is a high value crop and can be marketed with little processing. Peanut oil can be used for cooking, or as a base for confectioneries. Groundnut may be eaten raw, boiled, steamed or roasted.

A large number of food products are prepared from the groundnuts and often used as vegetables when the seeds are still tender. They may also be taken in their germinated form.

Germination not only renders them more digestible, but also enhances their food value, especially in their vitamin B and C contents. The groundnut flour is becoming increasingly popular and it is by far superior to wheat flour in nutritive value. Groundnuts may be used for preparing nutritive and tasty milk. Its oil cake is a nutritive feed for cattle.

The area under groundnut during 2000-2001 was 81,500 hectares with the production of 91,400 tonnes of pods. The average yield obtained was 1121 kg/ha. Data indicate that yield of groundnut in Sindh remained high at 1864 kg/ha against 1017 kg/ha in Punjab and 1535 kg/ha in the NWFP.

Groundnut is a kharif season crop and grown during the rainy season. Proper land selection is important for groundnut cultivation because its pods form inside the soil and imperfect soil will not only affect the quality and yield but also creates problems in cultivation and harvesting practices.

A well suited soil is that which provides good conditions for pods setting and development and for this purpose light, well drained loose, sandy loam and alluvial loam soils are necessary.

However, heavy and clay soils make a crust which does not allow pegs to penetrate into the soil, it also creates difficulty in harvesting. Planting time of any crop plays an important role because proper time of sowing gives the plant environment for its growth.

Groundnut is mostly planted from early March to end of July. In southern Sindh sowing period is in May and in North Sindh full month of June and in barani areas from June 20 to July.

Groundnuts are divided into three varietal groups as Spanish, Valenica and Virginia. Spanish grouped varities are bunch type with erect and compact plant habit and early maturity.

Virginia grouped varieties are spreading type plant. Moreover it was found that growers were not aware about new improved groundnut varieties. Two varieties were found in the area one is called desi which was spreading type variety and other was called farmi which was erect type variety.

Proper seed rate plays an important role in yield and production. To get optimum plant population recommended seed rate is 75kg per hectare for runner or spreading varieties and 100kg per hectare for bunch or erect or semi-spreading varieties.

During a survey three planting method were found i.e., broadcasting, drilling and kera. There is scarcity of three basic nutrients in the fields i.e., nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK).

Research findings concluded that the ideal chemical fertilizer rate for groundnut is, 20kg N, 80kg P and 0kg K per hectare. These rates may be obtained by using mixture of the SSP and urea or ammonium sulphate of DAP.

There are many insect pests and diseases which are seed borne. To avoid this situation seed should be treated with Agrosan G-N 2-3 grams/one kg of seed in such a way that each seed will properly be treated and then seeds will be sown in field.

It requires about 30 to 35 acre inches irrigation. For planting groundnut under irrigated conditions, a 'rouni' is needed for seedbed preparation. First irrigation three/four weeks of sowing second irrigation at flowering, third irrigation at peg formation, fourth at pod development and fifth about one month before digging should be applied if required.

Harvesting of groundnut is an important factor for getting higher yields. The total pod production increases with the growth period, but harvested yield reaches the peak and then declines due to field losses at longer growth period.

Early digging results in lower maturity and lower yield. Late digging results in more leftover losses in the soil and high digging cost due to dry and hard soil. The optimum time of groundnut digging is determined by digging a few plants from the field and counting the mature pods. Digging should be stared when 70-75 per cent pods are mature.

Harvesting should be carried out in bright sunshine so that the pods and vines can be dried thoroughly. Prevalence of high humidity during harvesting should be avoided to prevent mould development on pods.

Even under ideal conditions of harvesting, however about 5-10 per cent of pods are left in the soil. Solar energy can be collected and stored for drying groundnuts.

Excessive humidity favours fungus growth on the pods which can damage the seed. Growers reported that after harvesting they put their product in open plot for 5 to 6 days. The solar energy systems have been found to be technically feasible for groundnut curing.

Harvesting consists of two operations viz., lifting of vines with pods intact from the soil and separating of pods from the vines. Once groundnut is dug and collected pods must be separated from vines by hand or beaten and winnowed. This whole process is expensive, time consuming and labour intensive.

Profit from groundnut production can be enhanced by mechanizing this process and reducing the cost of production. For this purpose, a PTO driven FNU thresher, commercially available with local manufacturers can be used.

Shelling of pods is done at intermediate stages as the produce reaches the millers and exporters in the form of kernels. Shelling reduces volume and transport charges but it is disadvantageous to market the kernels as they easily and quickly undergo deterioration and spoilage.

Grading of groundnut is a prerequisite before mechanical shelling to keep the percentage of kernel breakage to a minimum. It was investigated that all groundnut is sold by the farmers as pods and grading was not done by the growers.

The grower needs storage facility to hold a portion of produce to meet the feed and seed requirements in addition to selling the surplus produce when the price is favourable.

Traders and cooperatives at market centres need storage structures to hold grains when the transport facility is inadequate. The government also needs storage structures to maintain buffer reserves to offset the effects produced by the vagaries of nature. Hence, there is a necessity to store the produce for different periods primarily for commercial reasons.

All costs incurred in the groundnut cultivation are aggregated and presented in the table below. The main causes of low yield of groundnut are identified as poor and traditional production practices, the non-availability of improved varieties, nominal use of recommended seed and chemical fertilizer and no control of insects, pests and diseases.

It is observed that there is a lack of market information among groundnut growers. Most of the groundnut arrivals are spread over all four quarters. The reason is that growers who are not capable of holding the produce and need cash as soon as possible, bring their produce to the market immediately.

Groundnut growers personally visit local and wholesale markets taking information about prices from the padhy-holders because they are usually buyers of groundnut. Groundnut is not sold through auction or commission agent.

The entire function is undertaken by the padhy-holders. Growers face difficulty in the absence of support price by the government. The prices of groundnut are normally controlled by padhy-holders who hold monopoly.