Evaluation of Multiple Stress Tolerant Groundnut Genotypes for Productivity and Nutritional Quality in Nigeria

Summary

Groundnut plays a very important economic role for smallholder farmers in the semi-arid tropics as a major cash crop for many households. It is also a nutritious and safe food and thereby contributes to improved health of the rural population. It is rich in protein, oil, and micronutrients such as iron and zinc. High iron and zinc content are especially beneficial for women and children at risk of anemia. High oleic acid and low linoleic acid make groundnut oil ideal for storage and better human health. Some 541 advanced breeding lines, along with local landraces and improved varieties, were evaluated for their reaction to drought, rosette, and foliar diseases, besides productivity parameters, over two locations during the 2014 season. This resulted in the identification of 45 promising lines with significantly superior pod yield (1,304-2,796 kg/ha) compared to check entries (189-1,005 kg/ha). Furthermore, these superior genotypes were evaluated for nutritional quality and trials during the 2014/15 dry season, confirming their superiority. Nutritional quality (oil, OIL ratio, protein, Fe and Zn content) analyses led to the identification of nutritionally dense genotypes. Genotypes ICGV IS 11060, Samnut 23, ICGV 00064, ICGV 01276, ICGV IS 07827, and Kampala had high oil content (53-54%), while ICGV 07813 had high OIL ratio of 6.1, followed by ICGV IS 09992, ICGV SM 05593, and ICGV SM 06722 with an OIL ration of 3.0. Genotypes ICGV IS 07833, ICGV IS 3980, ICGV SM 08553, and rCG 5891 had high protein (30-32%), Zn (46-51 ppm), and Fe (23-34 ppm) content. These serve as ideal genetic resources to develop agronomically superior and nutritionally enhanced groundnut cultivars with multiple resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses.