• The object of preparing the soil is to provide an ideal seed bed, control of weeds, facilitate infiltration of rains and destroy insect pupae and fungi by exposing them to hot sun.
• The basic requirements for good seed germination, seedling emergence and root growth in terms of the soil physical environment are adequate supply of moisture, oxygen, optimum soil temperature and freedom from mechanical impedance. A seed bed with good tilth is, therefore essential for establishing optimum plant population which is of utmost importance for obtaining high yields of groundnut.
• The type of preparation of soil for rainfed groundnut depends on rainfall and soil type. For kharif groundnut, land should be prepared thoroughly with the receipt of summer showers. This will help in sowing the crop early in the season well before the onset of monsoon.
• Preparation of good tilth is the most difficult step in rice fallow due to lack of proper drainage and short time available for land preparation after harvesting the rice crop. Ploughing of wet soil leads to cloddy seed bed which results in poor germination of seed and low plant population. Prepare the field into beds suitable for border strip method of irrigation. This facilitates sowing with a seed drill and also saves the land lost under the bunds when check basin method is adopted.

• ThFor timely preparation of land, implements like mould board plough, disc plough, disc harrow and cultivators are used extensively. By the use of tillage equipment the soil is pulverized, weeds are eliminated and stubbles of previous crop are uprooted and mixed with the soil.
• It helps in preparing the soil for maximum seed germination, reduce hinderance to root growth and good plant stand. Use of these equipments in seed bed preparation reduces operating time also and thus ensures timely sowing and higher yield.
• To tide over the surface crusting problem particularly in red lateritic soils, apply lime @ 2 2.0 t/ha along with FYM or composted coirpith (12.5 t/ha). Chisel the soil having hard pan formation at shallow depth at the time of seed bed preparation.

• To increase the storage of rainfall in soil, run-off must be controlled and rainwater must be allowed to stand on the soil surface even after rainfall is over. This can be achieved by different land shaping methods done across the slope.

Broad Bed and Furrow System (BBF)

• Traditionally, groundnut is grown on flat bed without proper gradation and slope and the problem of water logging becomes severe. To overcome this, a broad bed and furrow system is suggested. The raised beds should be 1.2 m wide and 15 cm high and with two furrows of 30 cm width on either side to drain out excess of water. This width of the raised bed will accommodate 4 rows of groundnut at 30 cm distance between row.
• The broad bed and furrow system needs a graded slope of land, 0.8 to 2.0% and it is formed across the slope. The furrows should lead to a main drain at the end of the field.

The advantages of this system are as follows.

• The crop in raised bed showed excellent root growth and nodulation, vigorous plant growth and greener foliage than the flat bed.

Raising of groundnut on broad beds reduces weed problem.

• Crops on BBF are more amenable for manual harvesting with fewer pods left in ground while pulling out.
• This system is recommended for all soils particularly for clayey soils in high rainfall areas.

• In this method the field is divided into small compartments of 5-10 cents size by forming bunds in both directions at suitable intervals of 10 to 20 m. This is suitable for red soils with a slope of 1.2%.