Effect of Land Surface Configurations on Soil Physical Conditions and Yields of Groundnut on an Alfisol

A field experiment conducted in an Alfisol at ICRISAT consisted of three land configurations namely ridges, broad bedfurrow (BBF) and flat. Two varieties of groundnut namely, ICG(FDRS)10 and ICGS 11 were tested. The results indicated that lowest bulk densities of 1.41, 1.44, 1.46 and 1.48 g cm.' were observed in BBF at 30, 60, 90 and 145 DAS respectively as compared to the flat. Highest soil moisture contents of 0.766, 0.683, 0.660 and 0.543 g/g were observed in BBF at 30, 60, 90 and 145 DAS respectively as compared to the flat. The penetration resistance was found to be lower in BBF by 9.3 and 15.5 kg cm.2 than that in ridges and flat respectively. The total porosity of the soil in BBF was found to be higher by 4.0 and 8.3 per cent than in ridges and flat respectively. Maximum oxygen content of 21.84 per cent was observed in BBF as compared to other land configurations. Maximum pod yields of 4,219 and 3,388 kg ha.' were recorded in BBF with ICG(FDRS)lO and ICGS 11 varieties respectively. The mean increases in pod yields observed in BBF were 11.9 and 20.5 per cent when compared to ridges and flat respectively. The increased pod yields observed in BBF might be due to increase in soil moisture retention, decreases in bulk density and penetration resistance