Field Assessment of Some Agronomic Traits of Four Groundnuts (Arachis hypogaea L.) Varieties from the Germplasm of Gimbi Research Station

Aim: To evaluate under agro-environmental conditions of Gimbi research station, some agronomic traits of four groundnut varieties from germplasm of PNL.

Study Design: This study was conducted using a randomized complete block design with four treatments repeated three times.

Place and Duration of the Study: The study was conducted in Gimbi research station between October 2019 and January 2020 (i.e. 4 months).

Methodology: Trial was conducted using four treatments with three replications. Data collected concerned percentage of seedlings emerged, number of days between sowing and flowering 50%, dry pod weight, weight of unsorted seed, weight of sorted seeds, percentage of good seeds, shelling percentage, average weight of 1,000 seeds and grain yield per hectare. All data were submitted to analysis of variance at 5% probability level.

Results: The rate of seedlings emerged recorded on each groundnut variety was overall less than 50%. All varieties flowered 32 days after sowing. The highest average weight of dry pods (410.8g) was noted on A1408, while the lowest value of dry pod weight (310.6g) was observed on JL24. The highest weight of unsorted seeds (360.9g) was recorded on A1408, while the lowest value (260.7g) was observed on JL24. Variety A1408 presented the highest weight of stored seeds (350.5g), while the lowest value (250.8g) was noted on variety JL24. The highest percentage of good seeds (97.3) was obtained on A1408, while variety Sivi presented the lowest percentage of good seeds (93.2). The highest shelling percentage of groundnut pods (87.6) was obtained on A1408, while the lowest shelling percentage (83.5) was noted on JL24. The lowest weight of 1,000 seeds was noted on Sivi variety (484.6g), and the highest value was recorded on A1408 (522.6g). The highest grain yield (912.9Kg.ha-1) was obtained on variety A1408, while the lowest grain yield was noted on JL24 (690Kg.ha-1).

Conclusion: Seeds of all varieties presented a very low rate of emergence (less than 50%). Variety A1408 was more productive than other varieties, and variety JL24 used as control should be regarded as having degenerated.