Bathinda, Aug. 10 -- Having suffered repeated losses from failed cotton crops over the past four years, a group of farmers in two agriculture blocks of Bathinda are now pinning their hopes on groundnut cultivation as an alternative kharif crop.

Encouraged by the state agriculture department, even paddy growers have adopted it on a small scale, hopeful of finding an alternative to the water-guzzling crop.

An acre needs around 30 kg of groundnut seeds, with the fields requiring only 3-4 cycles of irrigation through the crop's growth cycle, compared to cotton's 10 to 14 and paddy's 25 to 30, experts said. The growing duration is also shorter at 105 to 120 days, while cotton takes up to 180 days and paddy up to 140.

The average yield of th...