Effect of irrigation and manure application on the growth and yield of groundnut
Field experiments were conducted at the Agricultural Research Station, Aliyar Nagar, Tamil Nadu, India during summer 1994 and 1995 on groundnut, adopting a split plot design. Two irrigation regimes based on Irrigation Water/Cumulative Pan Evaporation (IW/CPE) ratios of 0.60 (I1) and 0.75 (I2) were allotted to the main plot. Twelve treatments involving combinations of organic manure with mineral fertilizer were assigned to the subplots. Irrigation scheduled at IW/CPE 0.75 led to higher plant height, number of branches plant –1, dry matter production and leaf area index, resulting in higher yield than IW/CPE 0.60. All the growth attributes and the yield increased in response to a higher level of mineral fertilizer application and organic manure application. The combined application of inorganic and organic manures significantly enhanced the growth attributes and yield of groundnut compared to the sole application of either of them.