Groundnut grows where other crops fail. When farmers in a tough terrain select a groundnut variety, they know what is best for their needs.

Improved groundnut variety ICGV 91114 from the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has initiated a revolution in the dry, rocky Anantapur District of Andhra Pradesh in India. The choosy farmers of the district are multiplying ICGV 91114 seeds with alacrity under an ICRISAT-initiated public-private seed partnership.

ICRISAT has helped design an end-to-end solution to improve the groundnut variety in Anantapur, reports William D. Dar, Director General of ICRISAT: “We have blended our scientific excellence with the strengths of our partners to improve the productivity of the farmers working in a difficult environment.”

Situated in the southern part of Andhra Pradesh, Anantapur is known for groundnut cultivation. Farmers there prefer groundnut as it survives on rough terrain under uncertain rainfall. Though the average rainfall is around 550 mm per year, some parts of the district have recorded rainfall as low as 200 mm in bad years and as high as 900 mm in good years.

Farmers typically grow groundnut on 800,000 hectares of the district, but in good years the area can rise to 1 million hectares, covering nearly 70% of the cultivated area in the district and making groundnut cultivation a pillar of strength for the rural economy. The crop can withstand dry spells of up to 50 days. When the rain returns, the crop rises phoenix-like from under the gravelly soil, yielding nuts for market and fodder for farmers’ animals.

Shyam N. Nigam, principal groundnut breeder at ICRISAT, reports that farmers in Anantapur have changed their cropping pattern over the decades due to poor rains, prolonged dry spells and frequent crop failures. “About 45 years ago, it used to be 80% cereals and 20% groundnut,” Dr. Nigam says. “Today it’s 80% groundnut and 20% other crops.”

Not only is the choice of crop limited, so is the choice of variety within the crop. Since the 1940s, farmers have continued to plant TMV 2, though improved varieties have been available. Farmers felt that the improved varieties selected for propagation in peninsular India did not meet the specific needs of their district.

ICRISAT started the process in the reverse. The groundnut breeding team from the Institute worked with farmers to select the most suitable varieties. With financial support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the project began in 2002 rainy season in the fields of 10 farmers who volunteered to participate. Ten new varieties were grown alongside TMV 2 in Dhanduvaripalli and Rekulakunta villages. The other partners in the project were the Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural Research University and the nongovernmental organization Rural Development Trust.

After the first harvest, the search for new improved varieties was narrowed to two: ICGV 91114 and ICGV 89104. During the next rainy season in 2003, the selected varieties were grown in slightly larger plots in West Narsapuram and Rekulakunta villages. The severe drought that year put all the varieties to the test, and ICGV 91114 produced a significantly higher pod yield, haulm (stem or top part of the plant) and shelling turnover (the ratio of seed weight over the total weight of seeds and shells) than ICGV 89104 and TMV 2.

“Under such severe conditions, any increase in productivity is of great benefit to the farmers,” comments Dr. Nigam. And, as the farmers were involved in all stages of varietal selection, they more readily accepted the improved variety. The trials and the seed-multiplication program for ICGV 91114 picked up from the first year onwards.

Photos: ICRISAT