Peanut - Premium Oilseed, Rich In Vitamin E And Fatty Acids, Versatile Cooking And Lighting Fuel

Groundnut is an oilseed derived from the fruit of the groundnut plant. It is referred to as a nut in general terms but it is not a nut exactly in actual terms, it is a seed rather and is also known by the name of peanut. The groundnut plant is an annual plant herb that comes from the pea family of Fabaceae. The plant has feather type leaves; yellow flowers and grows a legume shaped fruit that has 2 to 3 seeds which develops inside the earth. Also, oil is obtained from the groundnut seeds that is an excellent source of vitamin E, various fatty acids and carbohydrates and is largely used as a cooking medium, lighting fuel and food constituent.
Peanut is one of the major oilseed of India grown mainly in Western and southern part of the country. Its production depends heavily on weather conditions and prices of other competing crops. Peanut is also referred as Groundnut. India is the one of the largest producer and exporter of peanut besides China, Argentina, U.S., Vietnam. Peanut is mainly sown during May-June and the meal is normally available for export by mid-November. The seeds are crushed to obtain oil and oilcake which is further solvent extracted to obtain its meal.
* Crop: Peanut crop is generally harvested during Sep-Oct period in India.
* Producers: Besides India, China, Argentina, US and Vietnam are other major producers of peanut in world.