Physiological Aspects of Yield Variation among Seven Groundnut Genotypes Cultivated Under Rain-Fed Conditions

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at two locations, in North Kordofan under rainfed conditions for two consecutive seasons (2005/06 and 2006/07), to study the physiological aspects of yield variation among seven groundnuts (Araichis hypogaea L.), genotypes (Barberton, Sodiri, Gubiesh, ICGV89171, ICGV93296, ICGV86744 and ICGV92126). The parameters related to morpho-physiological traits were measured: growth rate (CGR), relative growth rate (RGR), specific leaf area (SLA), net assimilation rate (NAR), leaf area (LA), leaf area (LAI) and yield. The results of the combined analysis showed that there were no significant (p =0.05) differences among varieties for the measured morpho-physiological traits throughout the season. Mean seasonal pattern of these traits indicated that the maximum LAI, SLA, CGR, RGR and NAR were attained 65 days after planting. Significant varietal differences were observed for pod yield, hay yield, 100-seed weight and pod maturity. The highest pods yields of 551, 545 and 540 kg ha-1 were recorded by Barberton, ICGV89171 and Sodiri, respectively. Contribution/Originality: This study is one of the very few studies which have investigated the effect of genotypes on growth and yield of groundnut related to morpho-physiological traits in the traditional rain-fed sector of North Kordofan, Sudan 1. INTRODUCTION Peanuts or groundnut (Arashis hypogaea L.), is an important oilseed crop grown in a wide range of countries over 22 million hectares in the tropical and subtropical parts of the world (Mohammed et al., 2018); (El Naim and Eldouma, 2011). The total annual world production of the unshelled nuts amount to about 28 million tons. India, China and U.S.A produce almost 65% of the world production. Other major groundnut producing countries include Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Republic of Democratic of Congo and Indonesia. In Sudan, groundnut is an important oil and cash export crop. The area under cultivation the crop is about 0.8 million hectares with an estimated total production of 0.4 million ton (El Naim and Eldouma, 2011). The crop is grown under irrigation in the central clay plains and in the rainfed areas in the sandy soils of western Sudan (Ishag, 1986). About 80% of the area and two third of the national production come from the traditional rainfed sector of western Sudan. In North Kordofan, groundnut comes after sorghum in the area under cultivation. Barberton, Sodiri and Gubiesh, are widely grown cultivars characterized by early maturity, tolerance to drought stress and high pod yield. Several varieties and lines