Positive Influence of Intercrops on Natural Enemies in Groundnut Eco-System

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is a leading oilseed crop in India. It is called as "the king of oilseeds". The seeds are rich source of edible oil (43-55%) and protein (25-28%), also a valuable source of vitamins viz., E, K and B (Kandakoor et al., 2014). Groundnut is native of Brazil which was introduced into India in the sixteenth century. The most important groundnut growing countries are India, China, Nigeria, Sudan and USA. It is grown over an area of 18.9 million hectares with a total production of 17.8 million tonnes in the World. However it is grown in an area of 5.5 Million hectares with a production of 9.7 Million tonnes in India, contributing about 55 per cent of the total oil seed production of the Country which ranks first in the world in terms of total area and 2 nd in production. It"s cultivation is mostly confined to the Southern Indian states, viz., Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra accounting more than 80 per cent of the total production and acreage. The mean yield of groundnut is about 1784 kg. of pods/ha. in Tamil Nadu, which is higher than the world average (1336 kg./ha.) and it ranks first in India. Tamil Nadu accounts for about 12 per cent (0.41 Million hectares) of the total area under groundnut, it contributes to 22 per cent (0.81 Million Tons) of the total production (Anonymous, 2015).