Effect of different levels of sulphur on growth and yield of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in medium black soil of Konkan

Abstract

The field experiment aimed to assess the influence of four sulphur levels, namely control (S0), 15 kg S ha−1 (S1), 30 kg S ha−1 (S2), and 45 kg S ha−1 (S3), along with various fertilizer sources including control (F0), Recommended Dose of Fertilizer (RDF) (F1), UB-DAP (F2), and Konkan Annapurna Briquette (KAB) (F3) on the growth, yield, and quality attributes of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) during the Rabi-summer season of 2024-2025 at the Agronomy Farm of the Regional Agricultural Research Station in Karjat, Dist- Raigad. The study was arranged in a Factorial Randomized Block Design with three repetitions. The findings showed that both sulphur concentrations and fertilizer types notably affected the growth and yield of groundnut. The use of sulphur at 45 kg ha−1 (S3) notably led to the highest plant height (45.07 cm), number of branches per plant (18.63), number of pods per plant (23.13), total dry pod yield (43.87 q ha−1), kernel yield (20.38 q ha−1) typically being statistically comparable to the application of sulphur at 30 kg ha−1 (S2). Regarding fertilizer sources, the use of Konkan Annapurna Briquettes (F3) demonstrated the highest effectiveness for improving plant height (50.35 cm), branches plant-1 (20.03 at harvest), dry pods plant-1 (26.55), total dry pod yield (48.17 q ha−1), and kernel yield (25.49 q ha−1). The interaction effects between sulphur levels and fertilizer sources were determined to be non-significant for all studied parameters. The research finds that using sulphur at 45 kg ha−1 combined with Konkan Annapurna Briquettes or UB-DAP significantly enhances growth and yield.