An Open Access Journal published by ICRISAT SAT eJournal ⏐ ejournal.icrisat.org- 1- December 2009 ⏐ Volume 7 Response of groundnut to secondary and micronutrients

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) is a major oilseed crop. In Orissa, India, this crop is cultivated on 0.3 million ha and the productivity is 1.6 t ha-1. In spite of recommended application of fertilizer (NPK – nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) the yield does not reach the national target as the soils of Orissa are moderately acidic having low nutrient status (Sahu 1999). Intensive cropping leads to deficiency of secondary and micronutrients, which is the main constraint for low yield of groundnut. Field trials in two different farmers ’ fields under two agroclimatic zones of Orissa were carried out with different treatments of zinc (Zn), boron (B), sulfur (S) and molybdenum (Mo). The treatments tested were soil application of Zn at 5 kg ha-1 as ZnSO47H2O alone, Zn plus B at 1 kg ha-1 as borax, Zn plus S at 40 kg ha-1 as gypsum, combination o