Groundnut is an important oil seed crop.
Besides being an important source of vegetable oil, it is also used
as an important source of food, feed nutrition and fodder.
The present contribution of groundnut to total
oilseed production is about 40 per cent. Assuming that the groundnut
will account for a similar proportion to the total oilseeds production
by the year 2020 AD, the total demand for groundnut will be about 14
million tonnes.
The present production level is around 8.2 million
tonnes. Hence to meet the gap of 5.8 million tonnes, a growth rate of
about 2.2 per cent is required.
This growth has to come mainly from the increase
in productivity.
Groundnut haulms make a very palatable
fodder to cattle when fed in green state. It may be fed in the form
of hay after drying or after converting it into silage.
The haulms are rich in nutrition containing about
8-11 per cent protein. Groundnut kernels have about 25 per cent protein
which is about 1.3 times higher than meat, 2.5 times higher than eggs
and 8 times higher than fruits.
The oil contents of kernel ranges from 40-50 per
cent and is extensively used for cooking purposes. Oil is a rich source
of vitamin A, B and F.
Groundnut kernels are used in the roasted form
for culinary purposes. Peanut milk, butter, curds and chatani
is prepared from raw peanut kernels.
Groundnut has got numerous industrial uses
. The oil is also used for preparing vegetable oil (vanaspati);
low quality oil is used for making soaps.
Groundnut oil is used in beauty-aids, shaving cream,
cold cream, etc. It is used for medicinal aids such as plasters, ointments,
etc.
The groundnut cake powder is used as laundry starch
and in the manufacture of paper, gummed tapes and plastics.
Activated carbon is prepared from groundnut shells.
It is a good foreign exchange earner. Groundnut
cake is a very good organic manure (8% N, 1% P2O5
and 12% K20).
It can be used as a nutritive cattle feed. The
cake flour blends easily with wheat and other flours and consequently
used by bakers, confectioners, candy makers and ice cream manufacturers.
The word Arachis hypogaea (groundnut) has
been derived from two Greek words, Arachis meaning a legume and
hypogaea meaning below ground (referring to the formation of
pods in the soil). Groundnut has never been found in the wild state
anywhere and its origin has, therefore, been a matter of considerable
speculations and even controversy.
There are two schools of thoughts about its origin
– one supporting the view that groundnut had originated in Africa and
the other tracing its origin to Brazil in South America.
According to some literatures it is clear that
from the beginning of the sixteenth century, Portuguese ships going
to and returning from Brazil always touched the West Coast of Africa
and naturally they introduced it from Brazil into Africa.
Its introduction in India is considered to be
through Jesuit Fathers (Missionaries) who followed Vasco De Gama shortly
after his first landing in India i.e. in the first half of the 16th
century.
India, which adopted groundnut as an agricultural crop by the late
19th century, gradually became the major groundnut producing country
in the world within a span of 5-6 decades. India shares 22 per cent
of the world production (area 8.0 m.ha, production 7.3 m.tonnes)·
In Karnataka, Chitradurga, Tumkur and Dharwad are major Groundnut
producing districts and in India it holds third position in the groundnut
acreage next to Gujarat and Andhrapradhesh.
Area, production and yield of groundnut crop in different
countries (2003-04)
Country
Area in Ha
Production (Mt)
Yield (Kg/Ha)
2003
2004
2003
2004
2003
2004
Argentina
156,400
167,500
315,571
418,571
2017
2498
Benin
169,942
160,000
124,979
130,000
735
812
Brazil
85,142
98,100
177,461
221,203
2084
2254
Burkina Faso
345,000
345,000
321,000
321,000
930
930
Cameroon
205,000
205,000
200,000
200,000
975
975
Central African Republic
120,000
120,000
133,600
133,600
1113
1113
Chad
480,000
480,000
450,000
450,000
937
937
China
5,082,261
4,725,000
13,493,462
14,385,000
2655
3044
Congo, Dem Republic of
458,000
458,000
359,640
363,850
785
794
Ghana
464,700
431,667
439,000
389,649
944
902
Guinea
210,000
210,000
272,000
300,000
1295
1428
India
6,800,000
6,720,000
8,333,000
6,500,000
1225
967
Indonesia
682,943
702,163
1,377,000
1,450,000
2016
2065
Malawi
220,000
210,000
190,112
161,162
864
767
Mali
210,000
210,000
156,000
156,000
742
742
Mozambique
292,537
293,000
109,915
110,000
375
375
Myanmar
655,000
580,000
878,000
715,000
1340
1232
Niger
260,000
260,000
209,369
209,369
805
805
Nigeria
2,769,000
2,880,000
2,797,000
2,937,000
1010
1019
Sudan
1,900,000
1,900,000
1,200,000
1,200,000
631
631
Uganda
216,000
221,000
130,000
155,000
601
701
United States of America
530,950
564,140
1,879,750
1,933,070
3540
3426
Viet Nam
243,800
258,700
406,200
451,100
1666
1743
Zimbabwe
260,000
260,000
146,727
125,000
564
480
World
24,938,601
24,607,001
36,279,139
35,723,285
1454
1451
Source : FAO CITATION
Area, Production and Productivity of Groundnut in India
from 1961 -2003
Year
Harvested Area
(Ha)
Production
(Mt)
Yield
(Kg/Ha)
1961
6,889,000
4,994,000
725
1965
7,698,000
4,263,000
554
1970
7,326,200
6,111,100
834
1975
7,221,500
6,754,700
935
1980
6,801,300
5,005,000
736
1985
7,124,800
5,121,300
719
1990
8,309,000
7,514,700
904
1995
7,524,000
7,579,000
1,007
1996
7,596,000
8,643,000
1,138
1997
7,090,000
7,370,000
1,040
1998
7,396,000
8,981,600
1,214
1999
6,867,300
5,258,100
766
2000
6,558,600
6,480,300
988
2001
6,445,100
6,865,000
1,065
2002
6,800,000
5,400,000
794
2003
8,000,000
7,500,000
938
Source:
FAO
State-wise Area, Production and Productivity of Groundnut
in India (2002-03)
Arachis hypogaea was first published as species by Linnaeus
in 1753. The taxonomy of the genus is not well-delineated and additional
unidentified taxa are being regularly reported.
The wild species show marked interspecific variation
in growth habit, means of propagation and various morphological features
of both vegetative and generative structures.
Both annual and perennial forms occur and in some cases
this nature is difficult to ascertain.
Genus
Arachis is a perennial or annual legume with 3 or 4 foliolate,
stipulate leaves, papilionate flowers, a tubular hypanthium and underground
fruits (pods). A structure unique to the genus is the `peg' which is
an expanded intercalary meristem at the base of the basal ovule.
The expansion results in a lomentiform carpel of 1to5
segments, each containing a single seed with two massive cotyledons
and a straight embryo.
Species
At present there are 22 species have been described in
Arachis. They are
A. batizocoi Krap. & Greg.
A. villosa Benth.
A. diogoi Hoehne
A. helodes Mart. ex Krap. & Rig.
A. hypogaea Linn.
A. nambyquarae Hoehne
A. monticola Krap. & Rig.
A. tuberosa Benth.
A. guaranitica Chod. & Hassl.
A. paraguariensis Chod. & Hassl.
A. benthamii Handro
A. martii Handro
A. rigonii Krap. & Greg.
A. repens Handro
A. burkartii Handro
A. glabrata Benth.
A. hagenbeckii Harms.
A. prostrata Benth.
A. marginata Gard.
A. villosulicarpa Hoehne
A. lutescens Krap. & Rig.
A. pusilla Benth.
A. hypogaea Linn.
In the intra-specific classification, the cultivated
groundnut is divided into two large botanical groups viz., Virginia
and Spanish- Valencia on the basis of branching pattern. The presence
or absence of reproductive nodes on the main axis and the arrangement
of reproductive and vegetative nodes on the laterals are the most important
criteria.
The sub specific classification can be summarized
as follows.
Sub sp. hypogaea
habit procumbent, decumbent or erect; branching alternate;
inflorescence simple or never borne directly on the main axis, first
branch on the cotyledonary lateral always vegetative: 2 or 2-4 seeds
per pod; pod beak pronounced, moderate or absent; pod constriction prominent,
moderate or absent; pod very large (> 20 mm) or small ( < 10 mm);
testa colour commonly tan but red, white, purple and variegated forms
exist; seed dormancy usually present; foliage dark green.
var. hypogaea
habit procumbent, decumbent or erect; main axis in procumbent
forms short (not exceeding 40 – 50 cm); stem usually not very hairy;
usually 2 seeded; medium to late maturing.
var. hirsuta
habit procumbent; main axis may exceed 1 m; stem fairly
hairy; pods strongly beaked with 2-4 seeds; very late maturing.
Sub sp. fastigiata
habit erect to decumbent; branching sequential; inflorescence
simple or compound, always present or main axis; first branches on cotyledonary
laterals reproductive; seed dormancy usually absent; foliage usually
lighter in colour than in sub sp. hypogaea.
var. fastigiata
vegetative branches or primaries absent or regularly
placed at the distal nodes; inflorescence usually simple; pods with
2 or 2-4 (rarely 5) seeds; beak absent, slight or prominent; size medium
to small; testa colour tan, red, white, yellow, purple or variegated.
var. vulgaris
vegetative branches occasional and irregularly
placed; inflorescence compound; pods usually with 2 seeds; beak present
or absent; size medium to small; testa colour tan, red, white or purple.
History
