EVALUATION OF GROUNDNUT (Arachis hypogaea L.) GERMPLASM IN NIGER STATE FOR AGRONOMIC TRAITS

Abstract

Groundnut is an annual legume and one of the world’s most important oilseed crops. In order to access the genetic diversity of groundnut in Niger state, a germplasm collection mission was undertaken to three agricultural zones of the state. These zones represent the major groundnut producing areas of Niger state. Fourty-five farmers were interviewed using a validated questionnaire. The germplasm collected were evaluated for agro morphological parameters at the experimental garden of Department of Plant Biology, Federal University of Technology Minna, Nigeria using Randomize Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replicates. All the accessions were characterized into distinct genotypes base on agromorpholocal, fatty acid composition and pollen parameters. A total of thirty-seven (37) accessions of groundnut were collected from the farmers and six (6) improved varieties from Niger State Agricultural Development Project. The highest number (4) of groundnut accessions was collected from Lapai Local government while Gbako, Bida, Lavun, Paikoro, Agaie,Shiroro, Bosso, Kontagora and Katcha Local Government had 3 accessions each. Two accessions each were collected from Borgu, Rijau and Agwara Local Government. There were significant differences (P<0.05) for most of the parameters studied. Accession NG-SHI-036 had the highest plant height (35.33 cm). Accession NG-PAK-030 had the highest number of leaves (340.00) and accession NG-LAP-028 had the highest number of branches (16.00). Accession NG-AGW-009 had the least number of days to 50% flowering (27.33 days) and maturity (87.33 days). Accession NG-SHI-036 had the highest number of pod per plant (49.67); SAMNUT22 had the highest 100 seed weight (56.55g), 100 pod weight (132.70g) and shelling percentage (58.06 %). The result of pollen parameters revealed that SAMNUT26 had the highest pollen production (4803.33) and accession NG-SHI-036 had the highest percentage fertility (92.00%). The result of the pollen germinability revealed that in 10% and 20% sucrose concentration, NG-SHI-036 had the highest percentage germinability of 27.00% and 75.33% respectively. The dendrogram of the agro morphological parameters cluster the accessions into four major groups. Genotype NG-SHI-036 had the highest oil percentage (53.17%). Accessions NG-SHI-036, NG-GBA-014 and NG-LAV-024 were the best in terms of fatty acid composition. This study has provided some useful baseline information about important traits in the various groundnut accessions in Niger State. Such traits should be exploited for the improvement of the crop in the future.