Although, the groundnut plant is adaptable for wide climatic conditions, it requires 14 to 16 oC for germination, a long and warm growing season lengthens flowering. High temperatures result in the best performance in terms of length of the stem, number of flowers and number of pods. Maximum number of pods will be at mean temperatures of 23 oC. Good yields are expected with a well-distributed 37 to 60 cm of rainfall during the crop period. However, summer groundnut crop can thrive with 12.5 to 17.5 cm rainfall during the fortnight after sowing and 37 to 60 cm during the growth of the crop.
Crop season
Although the crop can be grown in all the seasons, kharif season production accounts for about 80 per cent of the total production. More than 90 per cent of the groundnut area is grown under rainfed condition. Kharif crop is grown during June-September period in majority of Gujarat and Maharashtra. In southern region it is grown as kharif as well as rabi crop and in southeastern states it is even cultivated in rice fallows during October-March. Groundnut is also cultivated during January-May as a summer crop under assured irrigation.
