Estimates of Genetic Variability in Selected Advanced Breeding Lines of Groundnut for Morphological, Yield and Its Contributing Traits under Imposed End-of-Season Drought Stress

Aim: To study genetic variability for morphological, yield and its contributing traits in forty groundnut genotypes.

Study Design: Randomized complete block design with two replications.

Place and Duration of Study: College of Horticulture, Hiriyur, University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Navile, Shivamogga, Karnataka, India during Rabi 2016-17.

Methodology: Forty genotypes of groundnut were evaluated under irrigated and imposed end-season drought conditions. Crop was taken care as per recommended package of practices. Stress was imposed by withholding irrigation at pod development stage (@90DAS) for 20 days in drought block. However, control block was provided with regular irrigations. Observations on different morphological, yield and its related traits were recorded on randomly sampled five plants per genotype per replication in both stress-full and stress-free environments. The mean data was subjected to statistical analysis using Genstat 14.1 software.

Results: The analysis of variance revealed that highly significant differences observed for all the traits even at p <0.01 level indicating the sufficient variability exist among the entries for the traits under study. High genotypic and phenotypic co-efficient of variation, high heritability coupled with high genetic advance over mean was observed for number pods per plant, immature pods per plant, pod yield per plant and hectare, harvest index, kernel yield per plant, fresh weight of seedlings and kernels per plant under moisture deficit condition.

Conclusion: It’s a clear evidence for lesser influence of environment and predominance additive gene action in germplasm for these traits which offers opportunity for selection, unvaryingly direct selection for these traits could be effective for developing high yielding drought tolerant genotypes.