Studies on the Effect of Phosphorus Levels on Yield Attributes and Yield of Groundnut in South Odisha Condition

Proper basal application of phosphorus has a tremendous influence on the kernel yield, pod yield and other yield contributing characteristics. In view of this, an experiment was conducted during summer season (February to June) of 2018 at Bagusala Farm (23^o39’ N latitude, 87^o42’ E longitude) of M.S. Swaminathan School of Agriculture, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Paralakhemundi, Odisha to find out the effect of various phosphorus levels on yield attributes and yield of groundnut. Seven levels of basal application of phosphorus rates, namely, 0 (control), 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, and 120 kg P ha⁻¹ were tested in randomized complete block design (RCBD) design with four replications. The experiment revealed that the basal application of P₂O₅ at the rate of 100 kg ha⁻¹ registered superior performance in expression of yield attributes like number of pods per plant, number of kernels per plant, kernel weight per plant and yield of groundnut. It may be concluded that to obtain higher productivity of groundnut during summer season in sandy loam soils of south Odisha, basal application of P₂O₅ @ 100 kg ha⁻¹ is recommended.

Basal application of phosphate (P₂O₅) @ 100 kg ha⁻¹ emerged as the best option for obtaining sustainable yield under South Odisha agroecology.