INFLUENCES OF GENOTYPE AND LOCATION INTERACTIONS ON AGRONOMICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL TRAITS OF GROUNDNUT

Abstract

An enhanced adaptation to specific environmental conditions could provide higher seed quality and quantity from groundnuts. In this investigation, 40 groundnut genotypes and three checks were evaluated for agronomical and biochemical quality traits in two different locations, Bikaner, Rajasthan and Junagadh, Gujarat during Kharif, 2019 and 2020. The traits of hundred kernel weight (HKW), shelling percentage (SP), pod yield per plant, oil percent, protein percent and antioxidant value indicated significant differences among the genotypes. The statistical model GGE bi-plot was used to identify the ideal and representative location for each genotype for each trait. The highest pod yield was observed for PBS 29079B at Bikaner and PBS 29137 at Junagadh, respectively. PBS 29079B is stable and high for HKW in both environments which is desirable for commercial production as a Runner commercial type whereas PBS 19013, 19015, 29230, 29232, 29243, 29082 found low HKW (<65 gm) in both environments. The genotypes PBS 29233, PBS 29189 and PBS 19018 presented the highest oil yield and were relatively stable across locations which can be evaluated as candidates for cultivar releases in the two studied climatic areas whereas PBS 29082 is the low yielder with stable expression which can be used as a parent for confectionery groundnut development. PBS 29082 and PBS 29069 are the high and stable yielders for protein content (>32%) in both environments. PBS 29228 is the stable genotype with high antioxidant value (>8 mM trolox per g) and PBS 29069 is low and stable yielder for antioxidant value (<5 mM trolox per g). The selected desirable genotypes in this study can be used as parents in hybridization programs along with large seed genotypes to develop populations for future releases having large seed size, high protein, and high antioxidant value.