Groundnut-a climatic resilient and sustainable crop for Jhoom to ensure nutritional food security of north-eastern states of India

Abstract

Groundnut, packed with energy, minerals and vitamin and an important food legume crop of tropical and subtropical areas, is utilized throughout India in one or the other form and helps alleviate malnutrition. But its availability, due to its scanty cultivation, is very poor in remote areas of north eastern region of India where production of groundnut has to be increased, to ensure nutritional food security in this region. The large scale cultivation of groundnut in the north-eastern states where water is not a limiting and soils are rich in organic matter providing good soil physical condition for pod growth is of utmost important. However, climatic variations, the acidic nature (4.5 to 6.0 pH) of soil and Al- and Fe-toxicities and Caand P-deficiencies are the major factors which may restrict the expansion of groundnut cultivation in these region (Singh et al 2003, 2006). Through an inter-institutional collaborative project between DGR, Junagadh and ICAR Research Complex NEH Region in Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur, Mizorum, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, a number of field studies on climatic resilient varieties and integrated nutrient managements conducted for almost of two decades (1996-2013) with an aim to restore the Jhoom land to maintain the biodiversity and provide nutritional food security through groundnut in these states.