Groundnut Response to Lime and Levels of Sulphur on Nutrient Content and Uptake

Abstract

Background: Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important oilseed and an important food crop of the world, ranking in 4th place as an important source of edible oil and as an important source of vegetable protein in 3rd place. However, the preferred pH for growing of groundnut is a pH of (6.5-7) which is slightly acidic or neutral. So for the crop to grow in a favorable soil pH, liming is required. Groundnut being an oilseed crop requires fertilization for high crop production. The farmers though aware of the fertilization in crops, are confined mostly in NPK fertilizers and negligence especially in sulphur fertilizer is common, however sulphur in oilseed crop is one of the key elements required to produce protein, oil and flavored compounds as well as to ensure quality. Methods: A field experiment was conducted in the Experimental Research Farm of School of Agricultural Sciences and Rural Development (SASRD), Nagaland University during the kharif season 2018 entitled “Effect of lime and levels of sulphur in nutrient content and uptake by Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.)”. The experimental design was split plot design with three replications. The main plot treatments consisted of two lime levels: L0: lime @ 0 t ha-1, L1: lime @ 3 t ha-1 and the sub- plot treatments consisted of five sulphur levels: S0: sulphur @ 0 kg ha-1, S1: sulphur @ 10 kg ha-1, S2: sulphur @ 20 kg ha-1, S3: sulphur @ 30 kg ha-1, S4: sulphur @ 40 kg ha-1. Result: The study showed that application of lime and sulphur, along with recommended dose of fertilizer NPK (20:60:40) showed increased yield and an increase in N, P, K and S content in groundnut, resulting in a significant increase in the uptake of N, P, K and S by plant.