Groundnut at a Glance

S N Nigam

Dedicated to

M y love for groundnut

From the author
This book is written in a format of a ready reckoner for quick consultation by the user.
It contains all the essential details of different aspects of groundnut improvement and
production. The information contained herein is extracted from various formal and
informal publications on groundnut. These sources are gratefully acknowledged. For
more details and in-depth information, the reader is advised to consult additional
literature.
The book has an open access so that the groundnut research and development
community and students in developing countries could easily access it. Alternately, a
pdf version can be requested from [email protected].
The author wishes to put on record the excellent support provided by Mr T Ravindra
Kumar, Senior Administrative Officer and Mr D Yadagiri, Technical Officer, Groundnut
Breeding Unit, Legumes Program and Mr K Siva Shankar, Library Officer, JS Kanwar
Library, ICRISAT in preparation of this book.

25th December 2014

S N Nigam

Correct citation : Nigam SN. 2014. Groundnut at a glance. Pp 121.

Page ii

Table of Contents
1. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1
2. Cultivated groundnut Origin, spread and centers of diversity ............................ 4
3. Wild relatives and their potential in groundnut improvement............................. 10
4. Cultivated groundnut - Taxonomy and reproductive biology .............................. 20
5. Nutritional quality of groundnut seed and haulm .............................................. 24
6. Genetic resources of cultivated groundnut ....................................................... 29
7. Genetics /inheritance/heritability of various traits of interest ............................. 35
8. Methods of cultivar development..................................................................... 48
9. Genomics ...................................................................................................... 55
10. Genetic transformation ................................................................................. 60
11. Current status and future needs in groundnut breeding .................................. 64
12. Non-genetic management of major production constraints .............................. 78
13. Cultural practices ......................................................................................... 98
14. Seed production in India ............................................................................. 105
15. Harvesting, drying and curing and storage ................................................... 109
16. Groundnut cultivation under polythene mulch .............................................. 111
17. References and further suggested reading ................................................... 115
About the author ............................................................................................. 118

Page iii

Groundnut at Glance
1. Introduction
Common names: Groundnut or peanut in English, pistache in French, mani in Spanish,
amondoim in Portuguese, ying zui dou in Chinese, mungphali in Hindi, ful sudani in
Arabic.

Other not so common names: Monkey nuts, goober nuts, earth nuts.
First written reference to groundnut: Oldest specimens found in Peru dated to 7600
years ago; First written reference in 1535 by Gonzalo Hernandez de Oviedo y Valdes
chronicles of travels in Americas; Crop consumed mainly by lowly men and boys and
slaves; Used for hogging up to 1930s in the USA; Research efforts of Dr George
Washington Carver (credited with inventing 300 different uses) during early 1900
made it an important commercial crop in the southern USA.
Scientific name: Arachis hypogaea L. (Given in 1753).
Life cycle of the cultivated crop: Annual (Legume).
World rank as an oilseed crop: 6th in edible oil production among the oilseed crops.
World rank as a protein crop: 3rd most important source of vegetable protein.
World rank as a food crop: 13th among the food crops (production utilized directly as
food or in confections).
(Depending upon the total global production of various crops, these ranks can vary
from year to year.)
Utilization of different parts of groundnut plant: Seed (kernel) - Consumed directly
raw, roasted and boiled or processed into confections and peanut flour for flavor
enhancement or crushed for oil for edible and industrial uses; Source of high quality
edible oil (44-56%), easily digestible protein (22-30%), carbohydrates (10-25%),
vitamins (E, K and B complex), minerals (Ca, P, Mg, Zn and Fe) and fiber; Shell Used
as fuel, animal feed, cattle litter, filler in feed and fertilizer industry and in making
particle boards and alcohol and acetone after fermentation; Haulm (above ground
vegetative parts) Used as animal fodder or in manuring; Roots Being legume add
nitrogen (100 152 kg/ha N) and organic matter to the soil.
(Groundnut cake obtained after extraction of oil is used in animal feed industry, in
making weaning foods for children and invalid foods for aged people and as fertilizer.
If groundnut produce is contaminated with aflatoxin, the cake will also be
contaminated. However, groundnut oil would be free from aflatoxin, if it is refined.
The contaminated cake should not be used as animal or human food.)

Page 1

Utilization pattern: Varies from region to region (Table 1). Major groundnut oil
consuming countries in Asia include India, China, Myanmar and Vietnam; Food use
showing an increasing trend over the years.

Table 1. Utilization pattern of groundnut kernels in different regions of the world.

Region Sub-region
Food use (%) Crushed for oil (%) Other uses1 (%)
America North America
74
16
10
South America
39
53
8
Africa
East Africa
49
46
5
Southern Africa
71
17
12
West Africa
55
33
12
Asia
East Asia
40
53
7
Southeast Asia
69
23
8
Southwest Asia
9
78
13
Europe Western Europe
95
4
1
Eastern Europe
100
World
41
49
10
(Source: Based on USDA data, PS&D database. 1= includes feed, seed and waste.)
Groundnut oil as biofuel: In 1900 Worlds Fair in Paris, a diesel engine was run on
pure groundnut oil; While in developing countries enhanced oil content is needed to
meet the ever increasing demand for high quality edible oil, in the USA it is being
targeted to produce peanut biodiesel to run farm machinery to reduce the cost of farm
operations (USDA-ARS, 2008; Wright, 2012).
Number of countries growing groundnut (2012): About 114 countries in tropical and
warm temperate regions of the world; Commercial production largely confined
between 40 N and 40 S latitudes.
Top 10 groundnut growing countries in the world (based on production in 2012): China
(40.7% of the total global production), India (14.0%), USA (7.4%), Nigeria (5.8%),
Myanmar (3.3%), Sudan (2.5%), Argentina (1.9%), Indonesia (1.7), Senegal (1.6%)
and Cameroon (1.3%); Together these top 10 countries account for about 80.2% of
global groundnut production.
World area under groundnut (2012): 24.62 million ha.
World production of groundnut (2012): 41.26 million metric t.
World average productivity of groundnut (2012): 1675.9 kg/ha.
Record yields reported in groundnut: 10.5 t/ha over a small area under intensive
cultivation in Shandong province in China (Yanhao et al., 1996), 9.6 t/ha in large plots
in Zimbabwe (Hildebrand, 1996), 9.4 t/ha in a 0.2 ha plot in summer season in
Maharashtra and 9.5 t/ha in a 3 cent plot in Andhra Pradesh in India (Nigam, 2000).

Page 2

Trend in global groundnut area, production and productivity (1980-2012): Both, on a

global and regional basis, groundnut showed positive trends in growth in area, yield
and production (Table 2).

Table 2. Annual growth rate in area, yield and production of groundnut during 19802012.
Region
World
Asia

Annual
Area
0.99
0.19

growth rate (%)

Yield
Production
1.72
2.73
2.49
2.68

Africa

2.47

1.22

3.72

Remarks

Limited opportunity for increasing

area, gains in production will have to
come through gains in yield.
Large scope to increase both area and
yield.

With 11.72 million ha area, 10.89 million t in-shell production and an average yield of
928.9 kg/ ha in 2012, Africa contributed 47.6% to the global area and 26.4% to total
global production of groundnut. Share of Asia in the same year was 47.0% in area
(11.59 million ha) and 62.3% in production (25.69 million t). Average groundnut yield
in Asia was 2216.8 kg/ha.
Starting 1990, the share of Asia in global groundnut area and production has shown
a declining trend (share in area: 1990 65.86% and 2012 - 47.0%; share in
production: 1990 70.57% and 2012 62.3%) whereas the reverse was true for
Africa (share in area: 1990 27.72% and 2012 47.6%; share in production: 1990
19.34% and 2012 26.4%).
Major countries with above world average groundnut productivity: 34 countries
reported above world average groundnut yield in 2012 (1675.9 kg/ha) but only
countries of consequence in terms of area are China, USA, Argentina, Vietnam, Brazil,
Egypt, Mexico and Turkey.
Countries with below world average groundnut productivity: Most countries in Africa
and some in Asia and South America led by India, Nigeria, Sudan, Sierra Leone,
Tanzania and Myanmar.
Growing ecologies: Rainfed Sole crop, intercrop and mixed crop; Irrigated Sole
crop; Residual moisture (in rice fallows) Sole crop.
(Single crop in a year in rainfed and residual soil moisture ecologies; two crops possible

in irrigated ecology, if temperatures all year round are favourable for groundnut
growth.)
Subsistence farming: Predominant in Asia and Africa; Characterised by low inputs,
rainfed cultivation, smallholdings, manual operations using traditional tools, sole crop,
mixed or intercropping, low productivity (700 to 1000 kg/ha).

Page 3

Commercial farming: Prevalent in USA, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, China and South
Africa; Characterized by high inputs, availability of irrigation, large holdings,
mechanized or semi-mechanized cultivation, sole crop, high productivity (2 to 4 t/ha).
Share of subsistence farming in total groundnut area: More than 76% groundnut area
covered by subsistence or low input rainfed farming globally.

2. Cultivated groundnut Origin, spread and centers of

diversity
Groundnut plant: Features of a groundnut plant are shown below (Fig 1); Main stem
(upright or prostrate; 12-65 cm in length) develops from a terminal bud of the epicotyl
and two cotyledonary laterals (can be prostrate, run along the ground or be upright)
grow on opposite sides; Tetrafoliolate leaves, with leaflets on the main stem differing
in shape and size from those on lateral branches.

Fig 1. A stylized groundnut plant.

Page 4

Growth habit: Six classes as per groundnut descriptors (Fig 2); Commonly classified
into three groups - Erect/Bunch, Semi-spreading/Semi-runner and Spreading/Runner
types.

Fig 2. Growth habits in groundnut.

Page 5

Branching pattern: Major two types Alternate and Sequential, a third category of
Irregulars also occurs (Fig 3); Presence or absence of flowers on main axis and
branching pattern on laterals, although closely linked, are two independent events.

Fig 3. Branching pattern in groundnut.

Alternate branching: Absence of reproductive axes on main stem and presence of

alternating pairs of vegetative and reproductive axes on the cotyledonary laterals and
other primary branches; First two branches on laterals and primaries always
vegetative, e.g., subsp. hypogaea.

Sequential branching: Presence of reproductive axes on main stem and presence of

continuous series of reproductive axes on the cotyledonary laterals and other primary
branches; First node on laterals and primaries always reproductive, e.g., subsp.

fastigiata.

Page 6

Irregular branching: Because of extensive inter-subspecific hybridization (i.e.,

between alternate and sequential branching types), irregular branching habit can arise
- presence of flowers on the main stem accompanied with alternate branching on
laterals and absence of flowers on main stem accompanied with sequential branching
on laterals.

Groundnut flower: Flowers (Fig 4) are aerial but pod development is subterranean due

to geotropic movement of the gynophores (pegs); Flowers are borne on inflorescences

located in the axils of leaves; Flowering is sensitive to light, temperature and relative
humidity; High temperatures and low levels of relative humidity reduce flowering,
while temperatures between 22C and 33C and soil moisture of 40% are ideal for
flowering; A light intensity greater than 45% of full sunlight is necessary for optimum
development - flowering is stimulated by light received three days prior to opening of
flowers; Generally, only one flower opens at each node at any given time at sunrise.

Fig 4. Flower a longitudinal section.

Page 7

Fig 5. A dissected groundnut flower: a. Hypanthium, b. Single and fused sepals, c.

Standard petal, d. Wing petal. e. Keel petal, f. Stamens and, g. Style and stigma.

A flower (Fig 5) consists of five petals, ten stamens and a pistil; Five petals are one
yellow to orange standard, two yellow to orange wings, and two petals fused to form
a paler yellow keel; Of the ten monadelphous stamens, two are usually not fully
developed; Stamens are fused together from one half to two thirds of their length;
Eight fertile normally developed anthers consist of four globose, dorsifixed, uniloculate
anthers alternating with four adnate, introse, oblong anthers; Pistil consists of an
ovary, style and stigma; Ovary is superior, small and conical with a beak-shaped point
at the tip and contains a single sessile carpel with 1 to 6 ovules; Style is glabrous
throughout its length and covered with bristles near the club-shaped stigma and is
enclosed in a filiform hypanthium; Stigma becomes receptive to pollen 24 hours before
flower opening and remains so after up to 12 hours, while pollen is shed 1 to 8 hours
before the flower opening; Anthesis and pollination occur at sunrise with selfpollination taking place within the closed keel of the flower; About 40% of the flowers
fail to begin pod development and another 40% abort before pod development.

Groundnut pod and seed: Pods (Fig 6) containing seeds are produced below ground;

They vary in shape, size and texture and may contain up to five seeds per pod; Only
after pods attain full size, the seeds inside start to develop; A seed consists of two
large cotyledons (does not contain endosperm), a stem axis and leaf primordial
(plumule), hypocotyl and primary root (radicle) and seed coat; Cotyledons comprise
about 96% of the seed weight and are the major storage tissue for the developing
seedlings.

Page 8

Fig 6. Parts of groundnut pod and seed.

Groundnut root: Tap root system has many lateral roots; Roots can go as deep as 135

cm but are generally confined to 5-35 cm zone within a radius of 12-14 cm; Roots lack
typical root hairs, instead have tuft of hairs produced in the axil of emerging lateral
roots to provide site for nodulation.
Center of origin: Genus Arachis is naturally restricted to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil,
Paraguay and Uruguay in South America; No one is certain of the exact origin of
cultivated groundnut; Most probably it originated in the region of eastern foothills of
the Andes (southern Bolivia and northwestern Argentina).
Centers of diversity: Greatest genetic diversity in Arachis occurs in South America;
Six recognized gene centers for cultivated groundnut in South America (i) the
Guarani region, (ii) Goias and Minas Gerais (Brazil), (iii) Rondonia and northwest Mato
Grosso (Brazil), (iv) the eastern foothills of the Andes in Bolivia, (v) Peru, and (vi)
Northeastern Brazil; Secondary center of diversity - Africa.
Spread: Portuguese carried in the late 15th century 2-seeded groundnut varieties from
the east coast of South America (Brazil) to Africa, to the Malabar coast of southeastern
India and possibly to the far east; Spaniards in the early 16th century took 3-seeded
Peruvian types (including hirsuta types) to Indonesia, China up to Madagascar from
the west coast of South America via the western Pacific; By the middle of 16th century,
groundnut made its way to North America from Africa (through slave trade) as well as
from the Caribbean islands, Central America and Mexico and was distributed
worldwide; By the 19th century, groundnut became an important crop in West Africa,
India, China and the USA; More than 114 counties now grow groundnut.

Page 9

3. Wild relatives and their potential in groundnut improvement

Family, tribe, subtribe and genus: Family Leguminoseae-Papilionoideae, Tribe
Aeschynomeneae, Subtribe - Stylosanthinae, Genus Arachis.
Genus endemic to South America; About 80 described species reported in nine
infrageneric taxonomic sections (Table 3); More than 1300 accessions of wild Arachis
species collected; Several accessions within a species may show variation; Many
species are still awaiting description.
Taxonomic sections of Arachis: Genus Arachis divided into nine taxonomic sections
Section Arachis (32 species described), Section Caulorrhizae (2 species described),
Section Erectoides (14 species described), Section Extranervosae (10 species
described), Section Heteranthae (6 species described), Section Procumbentes (9
species described), Section
Rhizomatosae (4 species described), Section
Trierectoides (2 species described) and Section Triseminatae (one species described);
Except sections Arachis and Heteranthae, which contain both annual and perennial
species, all other sections have perennial species (Table 3).

Table 3. Characteristics of taxonomic sections of genus Arachis.

S.
Section
No.

1.

Arachis

2.

Caulorrhizae

Major identifiers

Leaves
tetrafoliolate,
plants erect or
decumbent, pegs
near 45 angle of
soil penetration
Leaves
tetrafoliolate,
stems with
roots/root
primordia at the
nodes

Life cycle Chromosome Characteristic

numbers
species and
number of
species
described till
date in the
Section
Annual
2n=20,
A. hypogaea
or
2n=4x=40
L. (32)
perennial

Perennial 2n=20

A. repens

Handro (2)

Page 10

S.
Section
No.

3.

4.

Erectoides

Major identifiers

Leaves
tetrafoliolate,
plants erect or
decumbent with
flowers and pods
grouped
generally at the
plant base, roots
with enlarged
laterals in most
species, some
pegs up to 1 m
or longer
Extranervosae Leaves
tetrafoliolate,
roots with
enlargements
(tubers?) of
various sizes and
shapes (but
basically
cylindrical),
standard petal
with red lines on
the back side, all
flowers normal
with an
expanded corolla

Life cycle Chromosome Characteristic

numbers
species and
number of
species
described till
date in the
Section
Perennial 2n=20
A. benthamii
Handro (14)

Perennial 2n=20

A. prostrata
Benth (10)

Page 11

S.
Section
No.

5.

6.

7.

Heteranthae

Major identifiers

Leaves
tetrafoliolate,
root system with
tap root but
fibrous without
enlargements,
standard petals
with red lines on
front only or on
both sides,
flowers
dimorphic,
normal and open
or very small and
closed, small
with corolla not
exceeding the
calyx
Procumbentes Leaves
tetrafoliolate,
stems with roots
occurring in
internodes, pegs
thickened,
horizontal and in
many cases long
Rhizomatosae Leaves
tetrafoliolate,
plants with
rhizomes

Life cycle Chromosome Characteristic

numbers
species and
number of
species
described till
date in the
Section
Annual
2n=20
A. dardani
or
Krapov. and
biannual
W.C. Greg. (=

ambinervosae

Krap. et Greg.
nom. nud.) (6)

Perennial 2n=20

A. rigonii

Perennial 2n=4x=40

A. glabrata

Krapov. and
W.C. Greg.
(9)

Benth. (4)

Page 12

S.
Section
No.

8.

Trierectoides

Major identifiers

Life cycle Chromosome Characteristic

numbers
species and
number of
species
described till
date in the
Section
Perennial 2n=20
A. guaranitica
Chodat and
Hassl. (2)

Leaves
trifoliolate,
hypocotyl
tuberiform,
plants erect,
flowers and pods
primarily at the
base of the main
stem, pegs very
long, growing
horizontal and
superficial
9.
Triseminatae Leaves
Perennial 2n=20
tetrafoliolate,
pod with 2 to 4
segments, lateral
branches
decumbent with
flowers and pods
along its length,
standard petal
with red lines on
both sides,
cotyledons with
ribs on the upper
surface (after
plant emergence)
(Adapted from HT Stalker and CE Simpson, 1995; Bertioli et al. 2011)

A. triseminata

Krapov. and
W.C. Greg. (1)

Cross compatibilities among sections of Arachis: Wild Arachis species, a reservoir of

several useful genes (diseases and insect pests resistance including genes for yield
related traits and high oil content), need to be harnessed for improvement of cultivated
groundnut; Interspecific hybridization is possible among most species within a section,
whereas hybrids between species of different sections are difficult to produce; Further,
intrasectional hybrids range from completely sterile to highly fertile, whereas
intersectional hybrids are always sterile.

Fertile hybrids: Rhizomatosae x Erectoides.

Sterile hybrids: Rhizomatosae x Arachis, Erectoides x Arachis, Erectoides x
Caulorrhizae, Erectoides x Heteranthae, Heteranthae x Extranervosae.
Page 13

Less barriers to interspecific hybridization in section Arachis as the section is more

recently evolved; All species in section Arachis compatible with A. hypogaea; However,
hybrids of A. grandulifera Stalker and A. hypogaea can be obtained with the aid of
embryo rescue and all other species can be used only as male parent; Intersectional
hybrids involving section Arachis and Rhizomatosae, Extranervosae, Procumbentes
and Erectoides have been successful at ICRISAT.
Genomes: Three genomes designated among section Arachis diploid species based on
chromosome morphology and crossing relationships; Most diploid species in section
Arachis have an A genome, A. batizocoi Krapov. and W.C. Gregory, A. ipansis and
four more species of the section Arachis have a B genome and A. grandulifera Stalker
has a D genome; Recent studies with FISH mapping of rDNA indicated presence of
two more genomes in species earlier considered to belong to B genome F (A.
benensis and A. trinitensis) and K (A. batizocoi, A. cruziana and A. krapovickasii).
Protocols for utilization of wild species: Commonly two pathways - Triploid-Hexaploid
pathway and Diploid-Tetraploid (Autotetraploid and Amphidiploid) pathway.

1. Triploid-Hexaploid pathway
A. hypogaea (4 x)

X
Diploid wild Arachis species of section Arachis A or B genome (2 x)

Triploid hybrid (3 x, Sterile)

Colchicine treatment

Hexaploid (6 x, Fertile) X A. hypogaea (4 x)

Pentaploid (5 x, Mostly sterile) X

Selfing

or

A. hypogaea (4 x)
Backcrossing

Population with plants at or near tetraploid level due to loss of chromosomes

(Fertile)

Page 14

Greater recombination between cultivated and wild Arachis species in the TriploidHexaploid pathway due to selfing at hexaploid level; Interspecific hybrids derived from
A. hypogaea subsp. fastigiata var. fastigiata x A. cardenasii following selfing route
have shown high levels of resistance to nematodes, early and late leaf spots, leaf
hopper, corn earworm and southern corn rootworm including high yield indicating the
occurrence of recombination between A. hypogaea and A. cardenasii; Recombination
between A. hypogaea and wild Arachis species in backcrossing through pentaploid
route is limited.

2. Diploid-Tetraploid (Autotetraploid and Amphidiploid) pathway

a.

A or B genome species of section Arachis (2 x)

Colchicine

A. hypogaea (4 x) X Autotetraploid of wild Arachis species (4 x)

Interspecific hybrid (4 x)
b.

A genome species of section Arachis (2 x)

X
B genome species of section Arachis (2 x)

Hybrid of Arachis species (2 x)

Colchicine

A. hypogaea (4 x) X Amphidiploid (4 x)

Interspecific hybrid (4 x)

Page 15

Quick introgression of genes (particularly simply inherited dominant genes) in the

autotetraploid/amphidiploid route due to circumvention of sterility in triploid, hexaploid
or pentaploid hybrids; Seed treatment with colchicine preferred over the same for
vegetative cuttings due to higher success rate in doubling the chromosome numbers
in the former; However, cytological confirmation necessary to confirm doubling of
chromosome number in colchicine treatment; Interspecific hybrids derived from
amphidiploid of A and B genome species and A. hypogaea more fertile than when
either genome species used alone; However, the autotetraploid /amphidiploid
pathways have disadvantage of polyploidy identification, low vigor in many cases,
fewer seeds from hybridization and relatively restricted recombination.

Linkage drag in interspecific hybridization: Wild Arachis species harbor both useful

genes (disease resistance, insect pest resistance, yield, high oil content, etc.) and
several undesirable traits (long duration, poor pod and seed characteristics (shape,
shell thickness, reticulation, catenate pods, small pod/seed size, etc.)); Along with
desirable genes from wild Arachis species, many undesirable traits also get transferred
due to tight linkage between them; While getting rid of linkage drag by backcrossing
with A. hypogaea, the resistance to diseases and insect pests is also diluted; Use of
molecular markers in selection in breeding populations may reduce the burden of
linkage drag; Molecular marker based approaches, Genome Wide Introgression (GWI)
and Advanced Backcross-QTL(AB-QTL), enable enhanced utilization of alleles from
wild species.
Reported resistance genes in wild species: Table 4 below listing resistant sources in
wild Arachis species is not exhaustive.

Table 4. Sources of resistance to diseases, insect pests and nematodes and high oil
content in wild Arachis species.
Specific trait
Arachis species
Accession numbers
Early leaf spot
A. chacoense
PI 276325
(ELS)
A. stenosperma
PI 33820
A. glabrata
PI 262797
Late leaf spot (LLS) A. chacoense
PI 276325
A. cardenasii
PI 262141
A. stenosperma
PI 338280
A. glabrata
PI 262797
Rust
A. batizocoi
PI # 298639, 338312
A. duranensis
PI 219823
A. spegazzinii
PI 263133
A. correntina
PI 331194
A. stenosperma
PI 338280
A. cardenasii
PI 262141
A. chacoense
PI 276235
A. villosa
PI 210554

Page 16

Specific trait

Aspergillus flavus
(low in vitro seed

colonization and
aflatoxin
production)
Groundnut rosette
disease (GRD)

Arachis species
A. pusilla, A. chiquitana, A.
triseminata, A. duranensis,
A. cardenasii

Accession numbers
-

A. appressipila
A. decora
A. diogoi
A. hoehnei
A. kretschmeri

ICG # 8127, 8945, 14860

ICG 14946
ICG 4983
ICG # 8190, 13232
ICG # 8191, 8216, 11558,
13224
ICG # 13225, 14862, 14875
ICG # 13222, 14855, 14856,
14888
ICG # 13171, 13173, 13187,
13210,14872
ICG 13168
-

A. kuhlmannii
A. pintoi
A. stenosperma
Groundnut rosette
virus (GRV) and
Groundnut rosette
assistor virus
(GRAV)
Peanut bud
necrosis disease
(PBND)

A. villosa
A. chacoense

A. duranensis
A. correntina
A. monticola
A. cardenasii
A. villosa

Peanut bud
necrosis virus
(PBNV)
Tomato spotted wilt A. glabrata
virus (TSWV)
A. diogoi
Peanut stripe virus
(PStV)

Tobacco streak
virus (TSV)

A. helodes
A. glabrata
A. villosa
A. correntina
A. diogoi
A. helodes
A. duranensis
A. villosa
A. stenosperma

ICG # 8199,8956, 11552,

11553, 11555
ICG 8132
ICG 8189
ICG # 11564, 13164, 13165
ICG # 8144, 13168
PI # 262794, 33864
PI 468141
PI 468144
PI # 262801, 262794
PI 210555-1
GKP 9530-31
PI # 468141, 468142
PI 468144
ICG # 8139, 8195, 8200,
8203, 8205, 11550
ICG 8144
ICG 13210

Page 17

Specific trait
Defoliators (Leaf
miner, tobacco
caterpillar, cotton
woll worm)

Root-knot
nematode
High oil content

Arachis species
A. cardenasii, A.
duranensis, A. kempffmercadoi, A. monticola, A.
stenosperma, A.
paraguariensis, A. pusilla,
A. triseminata, A. ipaensis,
A. appressipila, A. villosa,
A. batizocoi, A. correntina
A. batizocoi, A. cardenasii,
A. diogoi , A. duranensis,
A. helodes, A. villosa
A. rigoni

Accession numbers
-

WH # 10026, 4347, 4377,

10034, 4330, 10025, 4376,
4367 (> 57% oil)
A. chacoense, A. monticola, A. villosa, A.
cryptopotamica, A. oteroi,

A. chiquitana

Accessions of wild Arachis species in section Arachis resistant to cylindrocladium black

rot, various nematode species and insect pests (aphids, jassids, thrips, Helicoverpa,
etc.) are also reported.
Centers maintaining wild Arachis collections: Argentina Instituto Botnico del,
Universidad Nacional de Nordeste (IBONE) (472 accessions). Australia Australian
Tropical Crops and Forages Genetic Resources Centre (65 accessions). Brazil
Embrapa and Recursos Geneticos e Biotecnologia (CENARGEN), Instituto Agronomico
de Campinas (1220 accessions). China Oil Crops Research Institute, Wuhan (246
accessions). Colombia Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) (243
accessions) and Centro de Investigaciones de Nataima, Instituto Colombiano
Agropecuario (ICA) (225 accessions). India International Crops Research Institute
for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru, Telangana (477 accessions);
National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), ICAR, New Delhi (112); ICAR Directorate of Groundnut Research (ICAR-DGR), Junagadh, Gujarat (106 accessions).
USA - USDA, Griffin, Georgia (607 accessions); Texas A&M University, Stephenville,
Texas (1200 accessions); NC State University, Raleigh, North Carolina (406).
Ex-situ conservation of wild Arachis species: Maintained through both seed
multiplication and vegetative cuttings but preservation for species producing few
seeds, in general, difficult; Best maintained in large concrete cylinders (75 cm high,
90 cm inner diameter and 5 cm wall thickness) set sufficient apart to stop vines
reaching to other cylinders to avoid contamination either in open or preferably inside
a glass/screen house; Potting medium sterilized 3 soil : 2 sand : 1 FYM mixture; A
cylinder can accommodate 5-6 plants.

Page 18

Vegetative propagation: All Arachis species lend themselves to vegetative propagation,

which can be adopted to: i. Multiply species which can be propagated only
vegetatively, ii. Multiply limited materials such as F 1 s, iii. Maintain the same
plant/genotype generation after generation, and iv. Obtain large number of seeds of
the same genotype for experimental purposes.

Procedure: Plant age for taking cuttings - best soon after flowering (ensure stem has

sufficient food reserve); Length and preparation of cutting 10-15 cm or 3-4

internodes long, give a slanting cut at the base of the node, remove all leaves except
the first fully opened tetrafolioate and treat the cut end with rooting hormone (Seradix
B); Potting and rooting transplant treated cuttings (4-5 cuttings together) in small
plastic pots filled with sterilized sand, place the pots in humidity chambers, control
diseases and insect pests if observed, remove flowers and pegs, if they appear; New
leaves start appearing soon and the roots appear in 30-40 days under favourable
conditions; Condition/harden rooted cuttings before transferring them to bigger pots
in the open.
Wild species released as fodder variety: A. glabrata (section Rhizomatosae) Arb (PI
118457), Arblick (PI 261839), Florigraze (GS 1, 1978) and Arbrook (PI 261817, 1986)
in Florida, USA; A. pintoi (section Caulorrhizae) - Amarillo (CPI 58113, 1989) in
Tropical Australia, Mani Forrajero and Perenne (1992) in Colombia and Pico Bonito
(1993) in Honduras (CIAT 17434); Arachis sp. (section Procumbentes) Pantanal (PI
446898) in Florida, USA; A. glabrata propagated by vegetative cuttings and A. pintoi
by seeds; Maximum dry matter yield recorded - > 16 t/ha in Florida; Because of higher
levels of protein and resistance to diseases and insect pests, these fodder varieties
are used as an alternative to alfalfa in the USA.
Nutritive value of forage Arachis: Nutritive value of A. glabrata cv. Florigraze and A.
pintoi (CIAT 17434) is higher than that of most tropical legumes of commercial
importance; They have high levels of digestible energy (60-70% dry matter
digestibility) and fermentable nitrogen (13-25% crude protein) and relatively low
levels of condensed tannins.
Wild species as a cover and ornamental crop: A. pintoi and A. repens used as cover
crop for smothering weeds in plantation crops (coffee, banana, oil palm, etc.) and for
lawns as ornamental crop because of their intense green foliage color and frequent
brilliant yellow flowering.
Improved germplasm/cultivars with wild species genomes released: Some of the
improved germplasm /cultivars having genes from wild Arachis species are ICGV #
86699, 87165, 99001, 99003, 99004 and 99005, ICGV-SM # 85048 and 86715
(ICRISAT, India and ICRIST, Malawi), GPBD 4 (UAS, Dharwad, India), Spancross,
Tamnut 74, TxAG 7, COAN, NemaTAM and Tifguard (USA).
Synthetic allotetraploids: Tetraploid groundnuts (amphidiploids and autotetraploids)
developed by combining putative genome donors as well as many other closely related
A and B genome species; Used to access diploid gene pool to mine for disease
resistance, drought tolerance and other traits.
Page 19

4. Cultivated groundnut - Taxonomy and reproductive biology

Putative ancestors: Domesticated species is believed to have originated from a single
hybridization event approximately 3500 years ago between putative ancestors (A.
duranensis (A genome), the female progenitor and A. ipansis (B genome), the male
progenitor), which was followed by tetraploidization; Subsequently, very little or no
introgression from related diploid species occurred, which resulted in only limited DNA
polymorphism in cultivated groundnut; However, ample DNA polymorphism is
observed within AA and BB genome species; Cultivated groundnut has narrow genetic
base due to its allotetraploid origin; However, there is abundant morphological
variability present among the varieties in the cultivated species.
Ploidy level: Cultivated groundnut is a segmental allotetraploid consisting of two
genomes, A and B, each originating from a different ancestor, but behaves like a
diploid; Almost all chromosome pairing during meiosis is bivalent.
Chromosome number: 2n=4x=40 (x=10; AABB genomes)
Taxonomy: Cultivated groundnut, A. hypogaea, an annual herb of indeterminate
growth habit, is divided into the following two subspecies (subsp.):
1. Subsp. hypogaea: Key distinguishing features - absence of flowers on the
central or main axis (stem) and regular alternation of vegetative and
reproductive branches on the laterals (alternate ramification), long life cycle.
2. Subsp. fastigiata: Key distinguishing features presence of flowers on the
central or main axis (stem) and no specific order of vegetative and reproductive
branches on the laterals (sequential ramification), shorter life cycle.
Subsp. hypogaea is divided into two botanical varieties (var.):
i. Var. hypogaea: Key distinguishing features leaflets with glabrous dorsal
surface or with some hair along the midrib, short central or main axis, prostrate
to erect growth habit, simple inflorescence, 2- 3 seeded pods.
ii. Var. hirsuta: Key distinguishing features leaflets with entire dorsal surface
hairy (1-2 mm), long central or main axis, prostrate growth habit, 2-4 seeded
pods.
Subsp. fastigiata is divided into four botanical varieties as follows:
i. Var. fastigiata: Key distinguishing features Leaflets with glabrous dorsal
surface and hair only on the midrib, 3-5 seeded pods with smooth or lightly
marked reticulation without highlighting of the longitudinal ribs, reproductive
branches mostly short and thin, little branched, curved branches, erect growth
habit, simple inflorescence.
ii. Var. peruviana: Key distinguishing features Leaflets with glabrous dorsal
surface and hair only on the midrib, pods with very marked reticulation and
Page 20

with prominent longitudinal ribs, long and strong reproductive branches (5-10
cm) with strong central axis and lateral branches.
iii. Var. aequatoriana: Key distinguishing features Leaflets with entire dorsal
surface hairy (1-2 mm), long reproductive branches, mainly the lateral
branches, central axis mostly with short inflorescence and reproductive
branches, deep pod reticulation, purple stems, more branched, erect growth
habit.
iv. Var. vulgaris: Key distinguishing features Pods mostly 2-seeded, bunched
fruits pointing to the base of the plant, erect growth habit, more branched,
compound inflorescence.
Var. hypogaea is also known as Virginia type (large-seeded) or Runner type (smallseeded), var. hirsuta as Peruvian runner, var. fastigiata as Valencia type and var.
vulgaris as Spanish type; Spanish types are likely to have originated due to
hybridization between Virginia x Valencia types.
The terms, Virginia, Runner, Valencia and Spanish, used both in botanical sense,
defined above, and as market types, which are described below.
U.S. peanut grades:
Seed counts per ounce (28.35 g)

In-shell

1. Virginia Jumbo In-shell 9/11

2. Virginia Fancy In-shell - 11/13

Kernels

1. Virginia Extra Large 28/32 elongated

2. Virginia Medium - 38/42 elongated
3. Virginia # 1 - 45/55 elongated
4. Virginia # 2 Virginia splits
5. Runner Jumbo - 38/42
6. Runner Medium - 40/50
7. Runner # 1 - 60/70
8. Runner Splits Splits of Runner kernels
9. Spanish Jumbo - 60/70
10. Spanish # 1 - 70/80
11. Spanish Splits Splits of Spanish kernels
(Adapted from Anonymous. 1988.)
Must ride on screen

Kernels
1.
2.
3.
4.

Virginia
Virginia
Virginia
Virginia

Extra Large 20/64 x 1 inches or 7.94 x 25.40 mm

Medium - 18/64 x 1 inches or 7.14 x 25.40 mm
# 1 - 15/64 x 1 inches or 5.95 x 25.40 mm
# 2 17/64 inches round or 6.75 mm round
Page 21

5. Virginia Splits 20/64 inches round or 7.94 mm round

6. Runner # 1- 16/64 x 3/4 inches or 6.35 x 19.05 mm
7. Runner # 2 17/64 round or 6.75 round
8. Runner Splits 17/64 round or 6.75 mm round
9. Spanish # 1 15/64 x 3/4 inches or 5.94 x 19.05 mm
10. Spanish # 2 16/64 round inches or 6.35 mm round
11. Spanish Splits 16/64 round or 6.35 mm round
(Adapted from Davidson Jr et al. 1982)
Uses of different types in the USA:

Virginia type: Largest kernels attractive for direct consumption, roasted in-shell,

kernels as salted peanuts.

Runner type: Mainly used in peanut butter.

Valencia type: 3-4 seeded pods, sweet in taste, freshly harvested pods used
as boiled peanuts, dried pods roasted in-shell.

Spanish type: Smaller kernels, used primarily in candy making, as salted

peanuts and in peanut butter.

HPS groundnut in India: Groundnut for edible purposes in trade circles in India is
called Hand Picked and Selected (HPS) groundnut as it involves a large measure of
hand sorting to ensure high quality; Kernels classified into four classes based on counts
per ounce (number of kernels per 28.35 g weight): Small 60-80 counts, Medium 4060 counts, Large 30-40 counts, and Very Large 20-30 counts; Usually counts have a
range of ten for Small kernels, a range of five for Medium and Large kernels and of
two for Very Large kernels; Similarly, a range of two is preferred for nuts-in-shell.
Breeding behaviour including cross pollination: Regarded a highly self-pollinated crop
with less than 1% cross pollination; However, cross pollination can reach as high as
10% at locations and in seasons where bee activity is high.
Hybridization in groundnut: Depending upon the breeding objective, parents for
hybridization should be selected carefully. Normally, female parent should be the
locally adaptive variety requiring improvement. Male parent should be the source of
desired gene(s). Hybridization can be carried out both in the field and in glass/screen
house. Field crossing nursery should be easily accessible and well maintained with
intensive protection against diseases and insect pests. It should be near the water
source to enable light irrigation every evening during the duration of hybridization
program. Parental rows in the nursery should be spaced out to allow emasculation
and pollination operations without disturbing the plants. The ratio of female and male
rows/plants is variable but enough male flowers should be available in the morning
for pollination.

Page 22

Fig 7. Groundnut hybridization in the field.

Emasculation and pollination: Bud to open next day is selected for emasculation

(removal of anthers from buds before their dehiscence to avoid self-pollination), by

afternoon or late evening, such buds are well developed and big enough with
elongated hypanthium to be handled easily during emasculation; Only one bud is
emasculated at each node and all other developing buds are removed from the node
causing little or no injury; All the 10 stamens (four stamens with globose, dorsifixed
and monothecous anthers and other four with adnate, introse, oblong anthers plus
two sterile staminodes) are to be completely removed during emasculation without
causing any injury to style and stigma; Pollination (transference of pollen grains from
the anthers of one flower to the stigma of another flower) is done next morning soon
after sunrise when the buds open into flowers; For pollination, a healthy flower from
a predetermined male parent is removed by breaking hypanthium and calyx, standard
and wing petals are detached and the keel petal gently pressed between thumb and
index finger to squeeze the sticky pollen mass out from the anthers; Sticky lump of
pollen is deposited on the tip of the stigma of the emasculated flower; Sometimes low
night temperature may delay the dehiscence of anthers and the time of pollination; In
delayed pollination, the success rate of hybridization goes down; Stigmatic surface
contains enzymes that promote pollen adhesion and within 8 h after anthesis these
enzymes apparently degrade; Fertilization occurs about 6 h after pollination; Flower
petals wither within 24 h; Fertilization of the egg activates the growth and elongation
of the intercalary meristem located at the base of the ovary; Peg with positive
geotropic behaviour and a length of up to 15 cm bears the ovary with the fertilized
ovules at it tips; Once peg enters the soil and penetrates to a depth of 2-4 cm, the tip
becomes diageotropic and the ovary develops into a pod; Pod first attains full size and
then the kernel inside starts developing; Under normal growing conditions of
temperature, moisture and nutrition, mature seeds formed 40-60 days after
fertilization.

Page 23

Hybridization in groundnut involves working during late evening and early morning
hours, which many persons find difficult to observe. By manipulating temperature and
day length (extending day length using artificial lights) separately for male and female
parents, the bud elongation and development can be achieved in the morning hours
to simultaneously allow emasculation and pollination in the morning hours.

Success of hybridization: Successful pollination indicated by emergence of a peg

from the axil of the leaf at the node of emasculated flower after 4-6 days after
fertilization under normal growing conditions, the peg emergence may take longer
under low temperatures; Unsuccessful pollination - no peg emergence even up to 23 weeks after pollination; Success rate, the per cent success of pollination, depends
on the skill of operator, timeliness of operations, environmental conditions during
hybridization process and the varieties involved in hybridization.

Environmental factors for high success rate: High humidity at the time of pollination

and timely pollination soon after sunrise ensure high success. Light irrigation in the
evening after emasculation keep the soil in the field crossing nursery wet in the
morning, thus raising the humidity at the time of pollination. If all precautions are
taken in hybridization, a success rate as high as 80-90% under screen/glasshouse
conditions and 70-80% under field conditions can be obtained.

Confirmation of hybridity: Grow F 1 plants and their parents side by side; Compare

carefully each F 1 plants for various morphological traits with male and female parents
to confirm their hybridity; If the F 1 plant is exactly similar to the female parent, most
likely it is a self, remove all the selfs; If in doubt, compare pod and seed characters
after harvest to further confirm hybridity; If doubt still persists, study F 2 generation of
such plants for segregation, in the absence of segregation , the plant should be
rejected as self.

Genetic markers: These can be used to confirm hybridity of F 1 plants at seedling stage,

however, marker traits should have complete penetrance and expressivity at seedling
stage and absence of pleiotropism or linkage with sterility; Dominant marker traits purple stem and leaflet veins, krinkle leaf, narrow leaf, yellow petal, etc.; Recessive
marker traits - apetiolated leaf, corduroy leaf, small leaf, imparipinnate leaf, foliaceous
stipules, miniature plant, white flower, etc.

5. Nutritional quality of groundnut seed and haulm

Groundnut can contribute significantly towards reduction in protein-energy and
micronutrients malnutrition; 100 g (3.5 oz.) groundnut seed contributes 585 calories.
Average composition of different parts of pods/seeds:

Shell: 60% crude fiber, 25% cellulose, 8% water, 6% crude protein, 2% ash, 1% fat.
Testa (seed coat or skin): 35% nitrogen-free extracts, 12% fat, 11% ash, 9% water.

Page 24

Germ (heart): 42% fat, 20% carbohydrates, 4% nitrogen, 3% ash, 2% crude fiber,
1% or less Ca, Mg, K, P.

Cotyledons: 48% fat, 26% protein, 17% carbohydrates, 2% fiber, 2% ash, 1% or less
vitamin E, niacin, folacin, Ca, Mg, Zn, Fe, riboflavin, thiamine, K.

Nutritional value of postharvest haulms: 85-93% dry matter, 6-20% crude protein, 213% digestible protein, 47-56% total digestible nutrients (TDN), 8-11 MJ/kg
metabolizable energy (ME), 1-3% fat, 42-47% carbohydrate, 22-38% crude fiber, 917% minerals, 0.3-0.7% P, 1.5-2.5% Ca.
Oil:

Oil quality parameters: Iodine Value (IV) = (% oleic acid x 0.8601 + % linoleic acid x

1.7321 + % eicosenoic acid x 0.7854); Oleic (O)/linoleic (L) acid ratio = (% Oleic acid
/ % linoleic acid); Total Saturated Fatty Acids (TSF) (%) = (% palmitic acid + %
stearic acid + % arachidic acid + % behenic acid + % lignoceric acid);
Polyunsaturated (P)/saturated (S) acid ratio = (% linoleic acid /% TSF); Total Long
Chain Fatty Acids (TLCSF) = (% arachidic acid + % behenic acid + % lignoceric acid).

Oil content: In general, Spanish types have more oil content than other botanical
types; 44-50% oil content most common in cultivars; Genotypes with lower than 44%
and higher than 50% oil content also available; Recently oil content as high as 60%
reported in new breeding lines at ICRISAT and in China.

Oil composition: Saturated fat - about 15%, monounsaturated fat about 50% and

polyunsaturated fat about 34%; Palmitic (16:0, saturated fatty acid) - 7-12%, oleic
(18:1, monounsaturated fatty acid) - 40-50% and linoleic (18:2, polyunsaturated fatty
acid) - 25-35%, these acids account for approximately 90% of total fatty acids; Longer
shelf life than most of the vegetable oils due to high oleic/linoleic ratio (0.76 to 5.5);
Cultivars with higher oleic/linoleic acid ratio (40, e.g. SunOleic 95R, SunOleic 97R)
available in the USA; Most suited for deep frying because of its higher smoking point;
Tocopherol (approx. 0.9 mg/g oil), an antioxidant in the oil, prevents development of
rancidity.
Oil content and composition influenced by environment, season and location effects,
growing conditions, stage of maturity and genotypes.
Protein:

Content and composition: Protein content - 22-30%; Major amino acids present

glutamic acid, aspartic acid and arginine; Deficient in lysine, methionine, threonine,
isoleucine and valine essential amino acids; Protein content and composition
influenced by environment, season and location effects, growing conditions, stage of
maturity and genotypes; 25 g protein contains - tryptophan o.2445 g, threonine 0.85
g, isoleucine 0.882 g, leucine 1.627 g, lysine 0.901 g, methionine 0.308 g, cystine
0.322 g, phenylalanine 1.300 g, tyrosine 1.020 g, valine 1.052 g, arginine 3.001 g,
histidine 0.634 g, alanine 0.997 g, aspartic acid 3.060 g, glutamic acid 5.243 g, glycine
1.512 g, proline 1.107 g and serine 1.236 g.
Page 25

Carbohydrates: Content - 20%; Contains water soluble carbohydrates

(monosaccharides, disaccharides) and oligosaccharides (including starch, raffinose
and stachyose); Sucrose is a major sugar in seeds followed by stachyose and raffinose.
Vitamins: Excellent source of E, K and B group (thiamine (B 1 ), niacin (B 3 ), pantothenic
acid (B 5 ), B 6 and folate (B 9 )) vitamins; One of the richest source of thiamin (B 1 ) in
plants; Lacks vitamin A and C.
Minerals: Ca, Mg, P, Na, K, Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn; Good source for K, P and Mg, more K
than Na.
Other desirable chemicals: Tocopherol, Resveratrol, Beta-sitosterol and Coenzyme Q
10.
Nutrient contents in one ounce of groundnut: Table 5 gives the nutrient contents in
one ounce of groundnut kernels.

Table 5. Nutrient contents in one ounce (28.35 g) of raw groundnut kernels1.

S.
Nutrient
No.
1.
Calories

Amount
161.0

% Daily
requirement
n/a

2.

Protein

7.3 g

14.2%

3.

Total
carbohydrates

4.6 g

1.5%

4.

Dietary fiber

2.4 g

9.4%

5.

Total fat

14.0 g

21.8%

Functions / Remarks

Energy rich food due to its fat

content; A very high proportion
of unsaturated fats and high
satiety value make groundnut
part of a healthy diet.
A powerhouse of less expensive
vegetable protein.
Good for diabetic diets due to its
low Glycaemic Index (a measure
of the rate at which
carbohydrates from a particular
food breakdown and release
glucose in blood stream).
Reduces risk of some types of
cancer, helps control blood
sugar levels and may help
reduce the levels of cholesterol
in blood.
Concentrated source of energy,
provides essential fatty acids,
carries fat soluble vitamins such
as A, D and E and helps
maintain healthy skin; Suitable
for Indian style of cooking due
to its high smoking point (240
C).
Page 26

S.
Nutrient
No.
Saturated fat

Amount
1.9 g

% Daily
requirement
9.5%

Monounsaturated 6.9 g
fat

n/a

Polyunsaturated
fat

4.4 g

n/a

6.

Vitamin E

2.4 mg
AT

17.5%

7.

Folate

68 mcg

16.5%

8.

Niacin

3.26 mg

16.3%

9.

Thiamin (B 1 )

0.18 mg

12%

10.

Riboflavin (B 2 )

0.04 mg

21.3%

Functions / Remarks
A low proportion of saturated
fat (bad fat); Saturated fat
intake should be less than 10%
of the total daily intake of
calories.
Monounsaturated fats help to
remove cholesterol including
LDL cholesterol from the blood,
thus giving protection from
heart attack.
Along with monosaturated fats,
polyunsaturated fats are healthy
and necessary for the healthy
body.
Vital antioxidant which protects
Vitamin A and the bodys cells
and tissues from damage;
Important for the immune
system and might aid in the
prevention of tumor growth;
Plays a role in preventing
coronary heart disease.
Important for the development
of new cells in the body,
particularly during growth and
pregnancy; Helps to prevent
birth defects.
Functioning in more than 50 of
the body processes, niacin is
primarily important in the
release of energy from the food
that
we eat as well as in
maintenance of healthy skin,
the nervous system and the
digestive tract.
Needed to ensure normal
functioning of the nervous
system, appetite and digestion.
Releases energy from the food
we eat, helps skin stay healthy
and assists in the normal
functioning of the eye.

Page 27

S.
Nutrient
No.
11. Vitamin B 6

Amount
0.10 mg

% Daily
requirement
5.7%

12.

Zinc

0.93 mg

5.9%

13.

Copper

0.32 mg

15.2%

14.

Selenium

2.0 mcg

2.8%

15.

Magnesium

48 mg

12.5%

16.

Phosphorus

107 mg

10.6%

17.

Potassium

200 mg

5.3%

18.

Calcium

26 mg

3.5%

19.
20.

Sodium
Iron

5 mg
1.3 mg

0.22%
8.1%

21.

Boron

1.0 mg

100%

22.

Cholesterol

0.0 mg

Functions / Remarks
Makes and breaks down
proteins in the body and makes
red blood cells used to transport
oxygen in the body.
Aids in the formation of protein,
wound healing, blood formation,
taste perception, appetite, night
vision and general growth and
maintenance of all tissues.
Important in the formation of
haemoglobin, health of bones,
blood vessels and nerves.
A trace element required in
small quantities for normal
functioning of the immune
system.
Important in the building of
bones and teeth, creation of
protein, transmission of nerve
impulses and maintenance of
body
temperature.
Component of all soft tissues
that are fundamental to growth,
maintenance and repairs of
bones and teeth.
Needed to ensure water balance
in the body and in the creation
of protein; Helps in release of
energy from nutrients and aids
in nerve impulse transmission.
Needed for development and
maintenance of healthy bones
and teeth.
Naturally low sodium food.
Aids in transport and
distribution of oxygen in the
bodys cells.
Major factor in the
metabolization of calcium in the
body and plays significant role
in development and
maintenance of strong and
healthy bones.
Free from cholesterol.
Page 28

S.
Nutrient
No.
23. Arginine

Amount
0.88 g

% Daily
requirement
n/a

24.

Total
Phytosterols

62.4 mg

n/a

25.

Resveratrol

73
mcg/g
without
skin

n/a

26.

Beta-sitosterol

18.4 mg

n/a

1= USDA Database for Standard Reference.

Functions / Remarks
Improves wound healing and
immunity.
These phytochemicals help to
prevent diseases and enhance
health.
Ounce for ounce groundnuts
have about half of the amount
of resveratrol in wine (160
mcg/g); Resveratrol, a
phytochemical, has a possible
role in reducing cancer and can
inhibit build-up of platelets in
blood vessels; A potent
antioxidant which can reduce
the oxidation of LDL cholesterol.
Has anticancer properties and
prevents cholesterol uptake.

Allergens: About 0.6% of the population in the USA is allergic to groundnut protein;
Seed storage proteins Ara h 1, Ara h 2 (most important) and Ara h 3 cause allergic
reaction; PI 261924 and PI 338386 lines have low allergen; No breeding program is
addressing the issue of peanut allergy through genetic manipulation; However,
research efforts are in progress to develop vaccines to peanut allergens; Refined
groundnut oil is allergen free as it does not contain any protein; Dry roasting enhances
allergic properties of the proteins in groundnut seeds.
Taste and flavor: Flavor quality - sum of the effects of genetics, production and
handling, storage and processing factors; Can be fully perceived by sensory evaluation
methods; Gas chromatographic methods used to quantify volatile compounds that
contribute to flavor; Carbohydrates and other carbonyls react with amino acids to form
flavor compounds during roasting; Roasted flavor is an inherited trait.

6. Genetic resources of cultivated groundnut

Accessions: World collection assembled from other agencies with an accession
number.
Landraces: Non-uniform material (unselected) collected from farmers fields or
purchased in local markets.
Farmers variety: A variety which has been traditionally cultivated and evolved by the
farmers in their fields.
Breeding lines: Material developed by breeders but not released as cultivars.
Page 29

Cultivars: A plant or grouping of plants selected for desirable characteristics that can
be maintained by propagation and cultivated by farmers.
Genetic stocks: Genotypes identified by special features or sources of resistance to
biotic and/or abiotic stresses.
Wild species: Species belonging to the genus of cultivated type and occurring in wild;
May or may not be cross compatible with cultivated type.
Gene pools in Arachis:

Primary gene pool: Includes landraces, cultivars and breeding lines of cultivated
groundnut including A. monticola.
Secondary and tertiary gene pool: Includes diploid species that are cross compatible
with A. hypogaea and belong to section Arachis and A. monticola.
Tertiary and fourth gene pool: Consists of species in section Procumbensae which can
share genes with A. hypogaea on overcoming postzygotic barriers.
Fourth and fifth gene pool: Consists of the rest of the species that are cross
incompatible or weekly cross compatible with section Arachis.
Genetic resources of cultivated groundnut: ICRISAT holds the largest collection of
15,445 accessions representing 95 countries and unknown sources of cultivated
groundnut in its gene bank with many duplicates in this collection. This germplasm is
freely available on request to scientific community and others from ICRISAT after
completing certain formalities.
Range of variability: In spite of limited polymorphism at DNA level, there exists
tremendous variability for various traits at the morphological level in cultivated
groundnut (Table 6).

Table 6. Range of variability in cultivated groundnut observed at ICRISAT, Patancheru,

India.
S.
No.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Character

Minimum

Maximum

Intermediate (s)

Growth habit
Branching pattern
Stem pigmentation
Stem hairiness
Reproductive branch
length
Number of
flowers/inflorescence
Peg color

Erect
Sequential
Absent
Glabrous
1 cm

Procumbent
Alternate
Present
Woolly
10 cm

Decumbent
Irregular
Hairy, Very hairy
Continuous

2, 3, 4

Absent

Present

Page 30

S.
No.
8.

Character

Minimum

Maximum

Intermediate (s)

Standard petal color

Yellow

Garnet

9.

Standard petal
markings

Yellow

Garnet

10.

Leaf color

Yellowish
green

Dark green

11.
12.
13.

17 mm
7 mm
1

94 mm
52 mm
6

14.
15.

Leaflet length
Leaflet width
Leaflet length/width
ratio
Leaflet shape
Hairiness od leaflet

Lemon yellow,
Light orange,
Orange, Dark
orange
Lemon yellow,
Light orange,
Orange, Dark
orange
Light green,
Green, Bottle
green
Continuous
Continuous
Continuous

Cuneate
Subglabrous

Lanceolate
Profuse and
long

16.
17.

Number of seeds/pod
Pod beak

1
Absent

18.

Pod constriction

Absent

5
Very
prominent
Very deep

19.
20.
21.
22.

Pod length
Pod width
Seed color pattern
Seed color

14 mm
7 mm
One
Off white

65 mm
20 mm
Variegated
Dark purple

23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.

Seed length
Seed width
100-seed weight
Days to emergence
Days to 50% flowering
Days to maturity
Fresh seed dormancy
Oil content
Protein content

4 mm
5 mm
14 g
4
17
75
0 Days
31.8%
15.5%

23 mm
13 mm
130 g
18
54
>155
> 66 days
55.0%
34.2%

Obcuneate, Elliptic
Scarce and short,
Scarce and long,
Profuse and short
2, 3. 4
Slight, Moderate,
Prominent
Slight, Moderate,
Deep
Continuous
Continuous
Yellow, Shades of
tan, Rose, Shades
of red, Greyorange, Shades of
purple
Continuous
Continuous
Continuous
Continuous
Continuous
Continuous
Continuous
Continuous
Continuous

Page 31

Resistant sources: Table 7 below listing resistant sources in cultivated groundnut is

not exhaustive. For additional information on resistant sources, literature should be
consulted. However, it is important to evaluate the reported sources of desirable traits
under local conditions and confirm their desirability before their use in a breeding
program.

Table 7. Number of sources resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses and those with
other desirable traits.
S.
No.

Specific trait

A.
1.

Disease resistance

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

Early leaf spot

(ELS)
Late leaf spot (LLS)
Rust
Web blotch
Peanut bud
necrosis virus
(PBNV)
Peanut mottle virus
(PMV)
Groundnut rosette
disease (GRD)1
Tomato spotted wilt
virus (TSWV)2
Peanut stripe virus
(PStV)3
Tobacco steak virus
(TSV)4
Indian peanut
clump virus
Bacterial wilt5

ICRISAT

Texas A & M and other US

and non-US institutions
Number
Number
screened
identified

Number
screened

Number
identified

2500

28

9400
9400
7400

76
141
23

2500
1500
50
-

40
12
35
-

1800

12,500

150

300

10,000

150

9000

6000
582
3222
-

80
17
24
-

1 + 39

16.

Cylindrocladium
black rot (CBR)6

4100 +
9610
1200

17.

Sclerotium stem

286

A few Virginia
and several
Spanish types
4

B.
1.
2.
3.

Insect pest resistance

5000
6500
520

14
30
20

Aspergillus flavus
Pod rot

Sclerotinia blight

rot7

Thrips
Jassids
Termites

Page 32

S.
No.

Specific trait

4.
5.
6.

Aphids
Leaf miner
Root knot
nematode
Multiple resistance

7.
C.
1.
2.
3.
D.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Abiotic stresses

Drought tolerance
Heat tolerance8
Salinity tolerance9

Other desirable traits

High N fixation
Earliness
High oil
High protein

ICRISAT

Texas A & M and other US

and non-US institutions
Number
Number
screened
identified
2331
25

Number
screened
520
930
-

Number
identified
20
18
-

9400

85

2500

12

742
-

38
-

26
127

6
11

342
15,000
8868
8868

4
21
44
51

1= Tested in Malawi, Nigeria and Mali, 2= Tested at University of Georgia, Georgia, 3=

Tested at Muneng, Indonesia, 4= Tested at NBPGR Regional Station, ICAR,
Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, 5= Tested in China and Indonesia, 6= Tested at NC State
University, North Carolina, 7= Screened at Directorate of Groundnut Research, Junagadh,
8= Screened at University of Reading, UK, 9= Screened at Directorate of Groundnut
Research, Junagadh, 10= From US peanut mini-core collection.
(Adapted from Singh and Simpson, 1994, in The Groundnut Crop: A scientific basis for

improvement. Ed. J Smartt, Chapman and Hall, London and other sources)

Global composite collection: Collection of 1000 diverse groundnut accessions jointly

formulated by ICRISAT and EMBRAPA, includes 184 accessions from mini core subset,
another 184 mini core comparator, 110 from Asia core and mini core, 408 elite
germplasm and cultivars including trait specific accessions and 114 wild Arachis
accessions; This collection has been molecularly profiled.
Reference set: A set of 300 genetically most diverse groundnut accessions, captures
466 (95%) of the 490 composite collection alleles representing diversity from the
entire spectrum of composition collection.
Core- and mini-core collections: Concept of core collection promoted to enhance use
of diverse germplasm in crop improvement; Found effective in improving efficiency of
identifying genes of interest in entire germplasm collection; Core- and mini- core
collections may need periodic update if more characters are added or new accessions
are included.

Formation of core- and mini-core collections: Entire germplasm collection clustered

into different groups by analysing data on morphological traits following Wards
method; From each cluster, then, 10% accessions randomly selected to formulate core
collection; ICRISAT groundnut core collection consists of 1704 accessions and that of
Page 33

the USA 831. Mini core collection developed with further sampling of 10% accessions
in the core collection.
Trait specific collection: Subsets selected from the core- or mini-core collection
possessing specific traits or after screening full or part of germplasm collection with
respect to a particular trait along with other traits and creating a set of germplasm by
selecting 10% or minimum of one accession from each cluster after diversity analysis.
Germplasm exchange: Since the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1993, the
international exchange and field collection of germplasm have become more tedious
and restricted, more strict quarantine policies and intellectual property right issues
greatly affect international germplasm exchange; Exchange of breeding materials,
which was quite common in the past, has now become almost non-existent even
within a country; Germplasm obtained prior to 1993 at ICRISAT is freely available but
those obtained after are subject to terms of the CBD; ICRISAT is the main source of
germplasm and breeding material, where these can be acquired after completing
certain formalities such as Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) foregoing claims of
ownership and intellectual property rights.
Centers maintaining major collection of groundnut genetic resources: Argentina
IBONE/INTA (3534 accessions); Brazil - CENARGEN/EMBRAPA, Brasilia (3340
accessions); China - Oil Crops Research Institute, Wuhan / National Gene Bank,
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing (8349 accessions); ICRISAT - RS
Paroda Gene Bank, ICRISAT, Patancheru, India (15,418 representing 95 countries);
India ICAR - Directorate of Groundnut Research, ICAR, Junagadh (9024 accessions);
National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, ICAR, New Delhi (14,585 accessions);
USA - Southern Regional Plant Introduction Station, Griffin, GA (USDA collection- 9917
accessions); National Seed Storage Laboratory, Ft. Collins, Co (duplicate collection
under long-term storage); NC State University, Raleigh, NC (740 accessions). Other
centers are: Senegal - Senegalese Institute of Agricultural Research (ISRA), Bambey
and USA - Texas A&M, College Station, Tx.
Safe seed storage/conservation: Gene banks dealing with germplasm conservation
and distribution should have two stage conservation i. Base collection, which is used
for further multiplication of genotypes, is stored for long term at 20 C (preferred)
or sub-zero temperatures with seeds having > 85% germination and seed moisture
ranging between 3 and 7%, a sample containing 1500-2000 seeds for each genotype
is to be stored, ii. Active/Working collection, which is used for distribution, is stored
for medium term at 4 C and 20-30% relative humidity with seeds having >80%
germination and seed moisture ranging between 7 and 8%, a sample of 1.5 kg is to
be stored; The medium-term storage retains >65% seed viability for 10-20 years.
Sum of temperature (in F) and relative humidity should be less than 100 to have
optimal seed storage; Under ideal storage conditions, groundnut seeds remain viable
for 15 or more years; Seeds stored at 10 C and 45% relative humidity had good
germination even after 20 years.

Page 34

7. Genetics /inheritance/heritability of various traits of interest

Genetics/inheritance of traits of interest: Most agronomic traits in groundnut are
inherited quantitatively and highly influenced by G x E interaction; When both parents
belong to the same botanical variety, additive genetic variance is the principal
component of genetic variance, and when they belong to different botanical varieties,
both additive and non-additive genetic variance may be significant (Table 8).

Table 8. Genetics / inheritance of various traits in groundnut.

S.
Trait
No.
1.
Plant type and associated traits
Growth habit Erect / Bunch

(Valencia and Spanish types),

Semi-spreading / Spreading /
Runner (Virginia type)

Plant height
Dwarf plant stature

Canopy breadth
Branching vs. non-branching

Number of primary branches

Reported inheritance in literature (not an

exhaustive review)
Complex inheritance - monogenic,
digenic, trigenic, tetragenic, genecytoplasmic and maternal inheritance for
growth habit; Generally spreading habit
dominant over bunch habit but in some
cases, the opposite also found; Semispreading habit monogenic dominant to
bunch and spreading forms; Spreading
dominant to bunch with complementary
and duplicate effects of two genes.
Both additive and on-additive gene
effects.
Different forms of dwarfism are
observed: sterile brachytic, fertile dwarf,
etc. Sterile brachytic - Monogenic
recessive in natural and induced
mutants; Two recessive complementary
factors; Trigenic complementary;
Tetragenic inheritance with two sets of
factors with complementary-duplicate
action; Fertile dwarf Normal monogenic
dominant over dwarf with cytoplasmic
modifiers; More than one gene involved
in plant height determination; Dominant
with variable expressivity and
penetrance.
Additive gene effects; Partial dominance.
Branching in Virginia type monogenic
dominant over non-branching Valencia
type; Monogenically recessive/ double
recessive for suppressed primary
branches in induced mutants;
Quantitative inheritance.
Both additive and non-additive gene
effects.
Page 35

Number of secondary branches

Length of primary branches
Reproductive branches on main
stem

Stem pigmentation

Stem pubescence

2.

Leaf traits

Elliptical shape
Krinkle leaf
Mottled leaf
Narrow leaf

Cup leaf
Flop leaf
Curly leaf
Corduroy leaf
Puckered leaf
Dark green leaf color

Both additive and non-additive gene

effects.
Both additive and non-additive gene
effects.
Absence is dominant to the presence;
Two sets of duplicate loci with epistatis
control, when both loci of each set or all
four loci are recessive flowering occurs;
Two, three or four sets of homozygous
recessive loci or modifying factors.
Purple or red pigmentation monogenic
dominant/ incompletely dominant over
light or green color; Monogenic, digenic
duplicate and digenic complementary
inheritance for purple color; Two sets of
genes of which one responsible for
purple and the second for green
pigmentation, extra nuclear factors;
Duplicate recessive for white stem.
Stem pubescence monogenic dominant/
incompletely dominant over absence of
pubescence; Monogenic inheritance with
overdominance of hairiness.
Elliptical leaflet shape on the main axis
monogenic recessive to elliptical-oblong
shape.
Both monogenic dominant and recessive
in different krinkle mutants.
Monogenic dominant to normal leaf in
natural mutants.
TMV 2 narrow leaf mutant and Gujarat
narrow leaf mutant are genetically
different; Partial dominant monogenic;
Monogenic dominant in induced mutant.
Monogenic recessive in induced mutant.
Monogenic recessive and digenic
recessive in induced mutants.
Monogenic recessive in a natural mutant.
Duplicate recessive in induced mutant.
Recessive with 13 normal : 3 puckered
leaf ratio.
Dark green color monogenic dominant/
incomplete dominant over light green
color; Dark green color duplicate
recessive in radiation induced mutant;
Light green color dominant over dark
Page 36

Lutescent leaf color

Golden yellow color
Albinism

Variegated leaf
Leaflet size/ leaf area

Petiole length
Number of stomata
Number of leaves on main stem

3.

Number of leaves on
cotyledonary branches
Inflorescence

Inflorescence length
Type of inflorescence

green color in crosses involving Chico

variety with at least two dominant alleles
of one of the two loci or one dominant
allele each at both loci necessary for
regulation of chlorophyll synthesis.
Two duplicate recessive genes.
Two duplicate recessive genes.
Duplicate recessive, triplicate recessive,
trigenic model in which duplicate loci
controlling chlorophyll development
epistatic to a third locus governing a
zygotic lethal; Cytoplasmic factors
influencing expression of nuclear genes
governing albinism.
Monogenic dominant in induced mutant,
maternally inherited.
Intra-plant variation in leaflet size
common in groundnut. Large leaflet size
incompletely /completely dominant over
small size; Monogenic/duplicate recessive
in induced and natural mutants;
Predominant additive gene effects for
leaf length and both additive and nonadditive gene effects for leaf width;
Predominantly non-additive gene effects
and reciprocal effects for leaf area.
Both additive and non-additive gene
effects important; Three recessive genes
for short petiole.
Low number monogenic recessive and
digenic recessive.
Both additive and non-additive gene
effects.
Predominantly additive gene effects.
Elongated inflorescence dominant over
condensed inflorescence with two genes
with complementary interaction.
Two complementary genes with 9
simple: 7 compound inflorescences in
Valencia (simple) x Virginia (simple)
crosses, however, a ratio of 13
compound: 3 simple inflorescences
observed in Valencia (simple) x Spanish
(compound) crosses suggesting presence
Page 37

Color of standard petal

Presence vs. absence of standard

crescent
Number of pegs
Peg strength
Peg pigmentation
Brachytic steriles

Female sterility
4.

Male sterility
Pod traits

Pod size

Pod length

Pod width

of two genes inhibiting expression of

simple inflorescence in Spanish type.
Five different intensities of standard petal
color observed; In general deep color
dominant over light colors; Orange
monogenic dominant /incomplete
dominant/co-dominant over white; Faint
orange monogenic recessive to orange;
Duplicate recessive control of white
flower when crossed with lines having
yellow flowers; Incomplete monogenic
dominance of yellow flower over white
flower; Additive effects of two different
genes for yellow color; Lemon yellow
dominant to orange flower with presence
of transposable elements; Two
complementary genes for garnet color
which is dominant over orange color;
Trigenic control.
Purple crescent dominant to no crescent
governed by duplicate genes; Single
dominant gene for purple crescent.
Both additive and non-additive gene
effects.
Significant sca.
Monogenic dominant/digenic inheritance
for purple pigmentation of pegs
One, two, three or more recessive genes;
Two sets of factors with complementaryduplicate action condition brachytic
character.
Monogenic and trigenic recessive
inheritance.
Two recessive genes.
Large size dominant over small size and
monogenic, digenic, trigenic and
multigenic control reported; Small size
dominant over large size with duplicate
gene interaction; Predominantly additive
gene effects.
Normal length dominant over long length
with duplicate genes; Both additive and
non-additive gene effects, maternal
effects.
Both additive and dominance gene
effects, maternal effects.
Page 38

Pod constriction

Pod reticulation

Pod pubescence
Pericarp thickness

Pod beak

Aerial podding

One-seed pod
5.

Seed characters

Number of seeds per pod

Seed size

Shrivelled seeds
Seed shape

Absence of constriction or shallow

constriction dominant over deep
constriction and controlled by two
independent dominant genes; Trigenic
complementary inheritance for shallow
constriction; Three unlinked loci and
cytoplasmic factor.
Monogenic dominant for strong
reticulation over shallow or absence of
reticulation; At least four factors for deep
reticulation; Smooth pods dominant over
reticulated pods with digenic inhibitory
gene action (13 smooth: 3 reticulated
types).
Two loci with additive gene action.
Monogenic dominant thin pericarp over
thick pericarp; Five factors with thin
pericarp dominant over thick pericarp;
Three complementary genes for
moderately thick pericarp.
Non-beaked pods monogenic dominant
over beaked pods; Prominent beak
monogenic dominant over non-beaked
pods.
Aerial podding monogenic dominant over
normal podding and the opposite also
true depending upon the genetic
backgrounds of the parents.
Any two of three duplicate recessive
genes control one-seed pod.
Three or more seeds dominant over
fewer seeds with trigenic/monogenic
control; Fewer than three seeds
dominant over three or more seeds with
monogenic control.
Large seed size monogenic dominant
over small size with possible modifiers;
Five pairs of genes with four having
isodirectional effects.
Single recessive gene.
Round shape monogenic/duplicate genes
recessive to elongated seeds; Seed
length maternally controlled; Button type
seeds dominant over normal seeds
(round or elongated) with digenic ratio of

Page 39

Seed ends
Seed length

Seed width

Seed length and width ratio

Hard seed

Rough testa
Testa color

i. Flesh (rose/pink/russet or
tan) testa
ii. White testa
iii. Red testa

iv. Purple testa

v. Wine testa
vi. Chocolate testa
vii. Variegated testa

13:3 indicating influence of inhibitory

genes on seed shape.
Flat ends of seed monogenic dominant
over smooth ends.
Mainly additive gene effects and
significant reciprocal/maternal effects;
Both additive and dominance gene
effects.
Mainly additive gene effects and
significant reciprocal/maternal effects;
Both additive and dominance gene
effects.
Mainly additive gene effects and
significant reciprocal/maternal effects.
Paternal inheritance, both hard and soft
seeds are allelic and follow monogenic
inheritance in induced mutant, the gene
for hard seed has pleiotropic effect.
Duplicate genes with recessive epistatis
with 9 rough:7 smooth testa.
Inheritance of testa color varies from
simple to very complex. Seven gene pairs
/ Nine loci interacting in several ways to
produce different testa color.
Duplicate dominant loci
Recessive to colored tests; Two different
dominant genes epistatic to red and flesh
testa color in specific genotypes.
One dominant gene/partial
dominance/single recessive gene/two
duplicate recessive genes/two
complementary recessive
genes/polygenic control responsible for
red testa color.
Partial/complete dominance over all
other colors with inheritance
monogenic/digenic epistatic, duplicate,
digenic cumulative, trigenic and
tetragenic with complex interactions;
Duplicate recessive.
Monogenic recessive.
Monogenic/digenic recessive in an
induced mutant.
Dominant/ partially dominant and
recessive to non-variegated testa;
Monogenic/digenic/two genes with
Page 40

Seed coat splitting

6.

Yield and related traits

Pod yield

Number of mature pods per plant

Number of immature pods per
plant
Shelling outturn
Weight of seed per plant
Seed number per kg
% sound mature kernels
100-pod weight
100-seed weight
7.

Haulm yield and quality

8.

Life cycle

9.

Crop duration

Green weight/ haulm yield

Annual vs. perennial
Early maturity and its
components

cumulative effects; Trigenic inheritance

with epistatic effect of purple over red.
Monogenic inheritance with additive
effects, duplicate additive and digenic
complementary.
Both additive and non-additive gene
effects.
Both additive and non-additive gene
effects.
Both additive and non-additive gene
effects.
Governed by a pair of genes without
dominance; Both additive and nonadditive gene effects.
Both additive and non-additive gene
effects.
Predominantly additive gene effects.
Predominantly on-additive gene effects.
Both additive and non-additive gene
effects.
Both additive and non-additive gene
effects; Mainly additive gene effects and
significant reciprocal/maternal effects.
Both additive and non-additive gene
effects; Both gca and sca for biomass.
Perennial growth habit dominant over
annual habit.
Late maturity monogenic dominant/
incompletely dominant over earliness;
Four or five genes with complete
dominance of lateness over earliness and
absence of reciprocal differences; Single
gene with additive effect/predominantly
additive gene effects for days to flower,
three genes with two types of epistatis
(dominant recessive, 13 late : 3 early
and duplicate dominant, 1 late : 15 early)
for days to accumulation of first 25
flowers and absence of reciprocal
differences; Two recessive genes acting
in an additive manner for days from
seedling emergence to first flower;
Significantly higher gca variance than sca
Page 41

10.

Biochemical/Nutritional traits

Oil content

Protein content
Oleic acid content

variance for time of emergence (in h),

time to first leaf opening on cotyledonary
branch (in h), time to first leaf opening
on main stem (in h), days to first flower
and number flowers per plant (at 32
days) under controlled environment
conditions; Significantly higher gca
variance than sca variance for days to
first flower under field conditions;
Significant additive genetic variance with
bidirectional dominance/ non-additive
gene effects for days to first flower;
Significant additive genetic variance for
pod and seed maturity indices; Both
additive and dominance genetic effects
for maturity index; Highly significant
additive and significant dominance,
additive x additive and dominance x
dominance effects with duplicate digenic
interaction for days from emergence to
first flower, more than two genes or
linkage effects between the genes for
number of flowers produced during first
four days of flowering, highly significant
additive and significant dominance
effects for percentage of ripe pods at 80
days after sowing; Predominantly nonadditive gene effects for days to
maturity.
Both additive and non-additive gene
effects; Epistatis interaction.
Both additive and non-additive gene
effects; Epistatis interaction.
One/ two recessive genes for high oleic
acid.
Additive gene effects and additive x
additive interaction.

Fatty acids (palmitic, stearic,

oleic, linoleic, arachidic,
eicosenioic, behenic and
lignoceric fatty acids, total
saturated fatty acids and long
chain saturated fatty acids)
Oleic/linoleic fatty acid (O/L) ratio Single recessive or two recessive genes

and some possible modifiers depending

upon the parents involved in the crosses;
Additive gene effects and additive x
additive interactions.
Page 42

Polyunsaturated/saturated fatty
acid (PS) ratio
Arginine content
Iodine value

11.

Soluble sugars

Physiological traits

Iron chlorosis

Harvest index
Leaf chlorophyll content
Chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and
total chlorophyll
Carotenoid content
SPAD chlorophyll meter reading
(SCMR)
Specific leaf area (SLA)

Specific leaf weight

Fresh seed dormancy
Apparent photosynthesis
Response to photoperiod
12.

Nitrogen fixation

Nodulation and nitrogen fixation

Both additive and dominance gene

effects and additive x additive and
additive x dominance interactions.
Two major genes with partial dominance
for low arginine.
Both additive and dominance gene
effects and additive x additive and
additive x dominance interactions.
Predominantly additive gene effects.
One basic gene and two or four
inhibitory complementary genes for
expression of iron chlorosis.
Both gca and sca; Predominantly gca;
Predominantly additive gene effects with
additive x additive epistatis.
Quasi-quantitative with modifiers either
in positive or negative direction in
different genetic backgrounds.
Non-additive gene effects with significant
additive x dominant epistatis interaction.
Dominant gene effects with significant
additive x dominance and dominance x
dominance interactions.
Both additive gene effects and
dominance gene effects with duplicate
and complementary epistatis and
additive x additive interactions.
Predominantly additive gene effects and
additive x additive interactions;
Predominantly dominance gene effects
with duplicate epistatis.
Predominantly non-additive gene effects.
Complete/ incomplete monogenic
dominance for dormancy over nondormancy; Multigenic control.
Dominance and overdominance effects.
Mainly gca, additive gene effects in some
cases and partial dominance to
dominance in others. Maternal effects.
Nodulation dominant to non-nodulation;
Monogenic, digenic and trigenic
inheritance; A trigenic model proposed the first two genes produce nodulation
while the third one inhibit nodulation
when dominant and the former two in
Page 43

13.

Disease resistance

Rust

Late leaf spot (LLS)

homozygous recessive condition.

Although the presence or absence of
nodulation is governed by a few major
genes, the intensity of nodulation
appears to be controlled quantitatively;
Predominantly additive gene effects for
nitrogen fixation; Both additive and nonadditive gene effects and additive x
additive, additive x dominance and
dominance x dominance interactions for
nodule number and nodule mass per
plant, nitrogenase activity and acetylene
reduction; Non-additive gene action and
reciprocal effects for nitrogenase activity,
nodule number, nodule mass and total
nitrogen; Predominantly sca for nodule
number and weight, specific nitrogenase
activity, shoot weight and total plant
nitrogen, maternal effects also important.
Sexual stage and races in groundnut rust
pathogen not yet observed. Monogenic/
digenic /trigenic inheritance with
resistance being recessive;
Preponderance of non-additive gene
action; Greater dominance variance;
Dominant, partial dominant or additive
gene action for resistance; Both additive
and non-additive gene effects and
additive x additive and additive x
dominance interactions; Significant gca
and sca for rust resistance; Resistance
dominant/partial dominant in wild
Arachis species. The resistance is stable
overs years and locations.
LLS and ELS inherited independently;
Duplicate complementary recessive in
induced mutants; Resistance recessive
and level of resistance controlled by
presence of recessive gene(s) at any or
all of the five loci; 4-5 duplicate recessive
genes; Both additive and non-additive
gene effects and additive x dominance
epistatis, maternal effect; Additive gene
effects for components of resistance
(lesion number, lesion area, defoliation,
latent period and spore production).
Page 44

Early leaf spot (ELS)

Chemical induced physiological races

observed which may give differential
reaction to resistant sources. Additive
and non-additive gene effects and
additive x additive gene interaction for
resistance with involvement of
cytoplasmic factors; Duplicate recessive
in induced mutants.
Sclerotinia blight
At least two genes involved; Quantitative
inheritance with involvement of
dominance, epistatis and cytoplasmic
factors.
Cylindrocladium black rot
Predominant additive gene effects;
Complex inheritance with resistance
delaying the onset of disease.
Aspergillus flavus/ A. parasiticus
No correlation between aflatoxin content
and aflatoxin production
and in vitro seed colonization and the
population density of A. flavus in the soil;
Three resistance mechanisms
preharvest resistance, seed coat
resistance (in vitro seed colonization and
cotyledon resistance (aflatoxin
production)), all inherited independently;
Predominance of additive gene effects
for seed coat resistance, reciprocal
differences observed; Predominantly
non-additive gene effects for aflatoxin
production.
Groundnut rosette disease
Three agents responsible for expression
(GRD)- chlorotic rosette and
of disease symptoms groundnut rosette
green rosette
virus (GRV), groundnut rosette assistor
virus (GRAV) and satellite RNA (SatRNA);
Two independent recessive genes for
resistance to GRD (effective against GRV
and SatRNA but not against GRAV)
Peanut bud necrosis disease
Three resistance factors inherited
(PBND)
additively for reduced disease incidence;
Highly significant gca and significant sca
and reciprocal effects; Nonadditive/
additive/dominance/epistatic and additive
x additive gene effects in different
crosses.
Tomato spotted wilt virus disease Significant gca and sca; Transgressive
(TSWV)
segregation for resistance observed.
Peanut stripe virus disease (PStV) Significant gca and sca.

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Bacterial wilt

14.

Resistance to nematodes
Meloidogyne arenaria (root knot
nematode) race 1

15.

Insect pest resistance

Leaf hopper

Aphids
Leaf miner

Partially dominant involving three pairs of

major genes and some minor genes;
Recessive resistance; Nucleo-cytoplasmic
interaction and both additive and
dominant gene actions.
Resistance conferred by single/ two
dominant genes (one inhibits root galling
and the other inhibits egg production).
Resistance controlled by three recessive
genes with additive effects; Predominant
additive gene effects for long trichomes
on mid-rib and petiole and jassis
damage; Predominant non-additive gene
effects for short, medium or long
trichomes on adaxial leaf surface,
margins, mid-rib and petiole.
Single recessive gene for resistance
Significant gca and sca.

Traits affected by reciprocal/maternal differences: Reciprocal effects due to

interactions between nuclear and cytoplasmic factors; Only cytoplasmic factors
account for maternal effects indicating superior cytoplasm; Parents with superior
cytoplasm used as female parent in hybridization; Significant reciprocal/maternal
effects reported for several quantitative traits - nitrogen fixation traits excluding
nodule dry weight, pod and seed traits such as pod/seed weight, length and width
and number of pods/seeds per plant, yield per plant, resistance to ELS, LLS and in
vitro seed colonization by A. flavus, calcium concentration in seeds, days from
emergence to first flower.
Heritability of various traits: Each heritability estimate is unique and determined by
the experimental material and the character under study, experimental design
followed, method of estimation, environmental conditions and control. Heritability of
various traits of interest is given in Table 9.

Table 9. Heritability of various traits reported from different studies in literature.

S.
No.

Trait

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Height of main axis

Branching pattern
No. of primary branches
No. of secondary branches
Length of primary branch
Length of secondary branch

Range (or value)

of broad sense
heritability (H)
33.7 97.2
90.4
33.5 94.5
12.0 98.9
28.0
38.0

Range (or value) of

narrow sense
heritability (h2)
71.0
55.3
23.2 59.0
64.5
36.2
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S.
No.

Trait

7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.

Shoot dry weight

Plant fresh weight
Total dry matter
No. of nodules per plant
Single nodule weight
Nodule weight per plant
Nitrogenase activity
Acetylene reduction
Days to emergence
Days from emergence to first
flower
Days to 50% flowering
Days from emergence to
accumulation of 25 flowers
Number of flowers produced
during first four days of flowering
Peg number
Peg strength
Peg length
Peg diameter
Pod-peg ratio
Days to maturity
Fruit maturity based on oil
pigmentation
Maturity based on hull scrap
method
Percentage of ripe pods 80 days
after sowing
No. of immature pods per plant
Pod size
No. of mature pods per plant
Pod weight
Pod length
Pod yield per plant
100-pod weight
Seed yield
100-seed weight
Harvest index
Shelling outturn
Oil content in seed
Protein content in seed
Zn content in seed
Fe content in seed

17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.

Range (or value)

of broad sense
heritability (H)
37.0 100.0
1.0
38.8 98.0
44.3
42.9
33.0 100.0
60.8
31.0
48.0-83.0
11.9 96.9

Range (or value) of

narrow sense
heritability (h2)
51
23.0 39.0

66.5 96.3
17.0-61.0

60.0
-

16.0-44.0

9.0-38.0

54.2 56.2
74.1
74.0
75.0
48.8
91.7 - 98.6
69.0-95.0

11.7 45.7
37.7
-

71.0
13.0-41.0

24.0

3.7 92.7
26.1 100.0
42.0 80.0
54.0 92.0
13.2 98.0
75.0 100.0
38.3 83.9
28.6 100.0
27.7 100.0
33.3 100.0
22.0 94.4
43.0 64.0
92.0
81.0

1.4 5.1
42.0 50.0
31.7 32.0
59.8
31.5
57.3 66.8
10.5 42.0
29.0
14.0
Page 47

S.
No.
44.

Trait

Range (or value)

of broad sense
heritability (H)
53.0

Carbon isotope discrimination

(Lab)
45. Carbon isotope discrimination
75.0 - 89.0
(Field)
46. Transpiration efficiency
34.0 86.0
47. Total transpiration
12.0 70.0
48. SPAD chlorophyll meter reading
9.0 -98.0
49. Specific leaf area
5.0 98.0
50. Drought tolerance index
54.0 98.0
51. LLS disease index
52. LLS resistance
53. ELS resistance
51.7
54. Resistance to CBR
48.0 65.0
55. Resistance to S. miner
# of days until plants wilted
41.5-50.3
Disease rating
14-23
56. Seed coat resistance to A. flavus
78.5
57. Resistance to A. parasiticus
i.
Dry seed resistance
30.0 65.0
ii.
Aflatoxin production
20.0 65.0
iii.
Pre-harvest resistance
27.0 33.0
58. Fodder quality traits
i.
Nitrogen content
0.72
ii.
In vitro organic matter
0.72
digestibility (OMD)
iii.
Metabolizable energy
0.67
content (ME)
iv.
Digestible haulm yield
0.91
(Adapted from Murthy, TGK and Reddy, PS. 1993 and others.)

Range (or value) of

narrow sense
heritability (h2)
-

22.0 27.0
0 13.0
51.7
1.0-11.0
-

8. Methods of cultivar development

Standard breeding methods, practiced in a self-pollinated crop, are also followed in
groundnut for developing a cultivar; Pedigree and bulk methods are more commonly
used by breeders than single seed descent (SSD) or recurrent selection; Some
breeders use a combination of breeding methods or make modification in a
conventional method; Selection for yield and yield-related traits in groundnut practiced
only after harvest because of the subterranean nature of the crop.
(For detailed description of different breeding methods, readers are advised to consult any
standard plant breeding book.)

Page 48

Methods without artificial hybridization: These methods involve selection in existing

(land races) or introduced (introductions) variability or variability created without
sexual process (mutation breeding and genetic transformation).
(Genetic transformation discussed separately.)

Introduction: Plant introductions useful in bringing in additional genetic diversity in a

breeding program; Sometimes they can also be released directly as cultivars if found
suitable; Indian cultivars TMV 2 and JL 24 introduced and released under different
names in many countries in Southeast Asia and Africa.

Pure line / Mass selection in introduced material: Selection and subsequent seed
increase for release as cultivars of single plants (pure line) or group of plants (mass)
selected from introduced material and landraces, etc.; Many cultivars in Africa (Makulu
Red, Apollo, Egret, Chalimbana, Mani Pintar and Malimba), India (JL 24) and the USA
(New Mexico Valencia C) developed through pure line or mass selection in introduced
material.

Mutation breeding: X-rays, gamma-rays and various chemicals used to break specific

linkages, create variation for specific characters and/or use in conjunction with other
breeding methods; Gamma-rays extensively used at BARC, Mumbai to create desired
variation for further use in conjunction with other breeding methods; BARC released
15 groundnut varieties, some of these are TG 19, TAG 24, TG 37A, TG 38B, TGB 39,
TPG 41, TLG 45, TG 51.
Methods after artificial hybridization: Hybridization provides opportunity to combine
genes from different parents; Choice of parents very critical for the success of a
breeding program; Parents can be crossed in different manners to access desirable
genes from them and recombine them (genes) in a single genotype - single cross,
three-way cross, four-way cross, convergent cross, diallel mating, diallel selective
mating; It usually takes 12-15 years after hybridization to develop a cultivar; This
period can be shortened by taking multiple crops in a year in a glasshouse under
controlled conditions (and following single seed descent method) or raising off-season
nursery at other locations where environmental conditions are favourable to raise a
crop; In crosses between parents having equal or nearly equal number of alleles
(k=0.5), selfing provides the greatest probability of recovering the desired plants; As
k approaches 1, the probability of recovering desired plants by backcrossing to the
better parent is high.

Bulk selection: F 1 plants space-planted to produce as much F 2 seed as possible, which

is planted en masse the next generation; F 3 seed harvested in bulk (limited selection

for easily identifiable traits (high heritability) such as plant type or seed size can be
practiced on F 2 plants) and a sample planted the next generation with the process
being repeated until F 6 generation; At this stage a portion of the seed space-planted,
and individual plants selected for evaluation in progeny test, undesirable plants
discarded from the F 6 derived progenies to make them uniform for replicated onstation and multilocation evaluation; Because of its low cost and little efforts required
in generation advance, the method continues to be used in breeding programs; Can
Page 49

be used to select for desirable traits in segregating populations originating from intersubspecific crosses between adapted and unadapted germplasm; But less effective in
selection in intra-subspecific crosses; However, bulk selection may cause genetic shifts
in segregating populations; Should be performed for few generations only.

Pedigree method: Very commonly used method in spite of extensive record keeping

of line descent or pedigree of each plant; Individual plants selected based on desired
traits in space-planted F 2 populations; Selected plants then space-planted in progenyrows in F 3 generation and again the best plants selected and progeny-rowed in F 4 ;
Selection process repeated in F 5 and the selected plants advanced to F 6 or F 7 generation; When progenies become uniform (with each generation of selfing, the
homozygosity increases), selection is made on plot basis; Selected genotypes (uniform
experimental line) then evaluated in replicated trials on-station and at multilocation;
Selection can also be carried out in a sequential manner at different locations to
enhance adaptability and stability of the selected populations; First used in the USA in
Florida in 1928; Most of the cultivars developed by pedigree method are F 5 -derived
lines.

Bulk pedigree: This method, a combination of pedigree and bulk methods and often

not described in breeding books, practiced in groundnut breeding program at

ICRISAT; Differs from bulk method that selected individual plants in F 2 population are
bulked into different bulks based on morphological traits including pod and seed
characteristics and their record of descent kept; Method allows retention of enough
subtle variation in the resultant uniform looking bulk populations for recipient breeders
to exploit it while evaluating them under local conditions.

Single seed descent (SSD): A modification of the bulk method that can be used to

inbreed populations in a shorter length of time; F 2 seeds obtained from space-planted

F 1 plants dense planted and a single seed or pod or small quantity of F 3 seed collected
from each F 2 plant and bulked which is again grown densely and the process of
selection repeated until the desired number of inbreeding generations achieved
(generally F 6 ); At this stage the final selected population space-planted for selection
of individual plants for evaluation in progeny test, undesirable plants are discarded
from the F 6 derived progenies to make them uniform for replicated on-station and
multilocation evaluation; At NC State University peanut breeding program, they could
raise three generations in 14 months following this method in a glasshouse and
breaking seed dormancy before planting, if required.

Backcross: Mostly used for transferring desired traits from a donor source to existing

cultivar; Occurrence of small number of simply inherited traits of economic importance

in groundnut limits the use of this method; However, with increasing emphasis on
disease resistance breeding, this method is gaining popularity among breeders; First
used in Malawi (Southern Africa) to incorporate groundnut rosette virus disease
resistance governed by two recessive genes into high-yielding cultivar Makulu Red; In
the USA, used to transfer high oleic trait into acceptable agronomic backgrounds; For
more details on two or three stages of crossing and selfing per cycle of selection,
minimum number of plants required in each stage and cost effectiveness, consult
Isleib, 1997 (Crop Science 37: 139-144).
Page 50

Recurrent selection: Recurrent selection received little attention in groundnut breeding

because of efforts needed to make a large number of crosses; It allows incorporation

of diversity in breeding programs while providing opportunities for recombination; It
enhances the probability of incorporation of several desirable traits from different
sources in a single genotype; Peanut breeding program at NC State University, NC,
USA extensively used this breeding method.

Diallel selective mating (DSM): A form of recurrent selection, which allows use of a

selected group of parents and provides opportunity for multiparental gene

combination; Offspring of two-way crosses can be crossed to each other or can be
grown out and examined for important characteristics and only selected plants are
intercrossed; At any stage in the program, material can be intercrossed or carried
through a pedigree, bulk or SSD selection program to obtain potentially new cultivars.
Single cross vs. Complex crosses: Complex crosses (three-way, double cross,
convergent crosses, etc.) recommended for obtaining desirable combinations of traits
from different sources; Some researchers found three-way crosses superior to single
crosses, while others did not find any difference between pedigree selections from
single and double crosses.
Inter-subspecific vs. Intra-subspecific crosses: In addition to releasing greater
diversity, inter-subspecific hybridization also results in deleterious albino, brachytic,
dwarf and sterile plants in segregating generations; Inter-subspecific crosses generally
show more heterosis than intra-subspecific crosses.
Reciprocal cross differences: Direction of the cross has a bearing on the types of
segregants obtained; Reciprocal differences observed due to cytoplasmic effects and
maternal effects; These two need to be separated in reciprocal effects as cytoplasmic
effects have a significant bearing and the maternal effects have very little bearing on
breeding programs; Reciprocal differences often occur in inter-subspecific crosses
(Spanish/ Valencia types x Virginia types).
Maternal effects: Observed particularly when studying seed characteristics (such as
dormancy and fatty acid composition, etc.) as they are influenced by the mother plants
on which seeds are borne; However, such maternal effects last for only one generation
and have little consequence in breeding programs.
Early generation testing: Normally early generation testing is done to identify superior
crosses and eliminate inferior crosses early in the breeding program, thus enhancing
breeding efficiency; No clear and significant advantage in early generation testing
observed in groundnut as most breeding efforts deal with quantitatively inherited
traits; Traits with higher heritability can only be selected effectively in early
generations.
Index selection: Index selection allows concurrent improvement of several traits in
early generations which go into the making of selection index; A selection index may
Page 51

contain traits with higher heritability, which are related with other economically
important desirable traits that have low heritability.
Natural hybridization: Depending upon the level of bee activity, variety and weather
conditions, the outcrossing rate may vary from < 1% to 10%; If natural hybridization
occurs between the genotypes of two subspecies, it is easy to identify the natural
hybrids in an otherwise uniform parental population; If it occurs between the
genotypes within a subspecies, the identification becomes difficult; Natural
hybridization causes genetic instability in the mother genotype as the resultant hybrids
and their progenies genetically contaminate the mother genotype; Natural hybrids can
also be exploited to develop new cultivars; However, the pollen parent in natural
hybridization remains unknown; Exploited as early as in 1923 to develop groundnut
cultivars in Indonesia; At ICRISAT, cultivars ICGS 11, ICGS 44, ICGS 37, etc. originated
from natural hybrid population of Robut 33-1.
Genotype x environment interaction (G x E): Desirable quantitative traits usually have
both genetic and environmental components, separation of these components
necessary to achieve maximum efficiency in breeding; Significant G x E interaction has
been observed for most of the quantitatively inherited traits confirming the need of
extensive multiyear and multilocation testing prior to cultivar release.
Multiline variety: Bulking of phenotypically similar but genotypically dissimilar sister
lines to form a cultivar; Sister lines maintained individually and bulked prior to each
seed increase of Foundation seed; This method allows the breeder to improve the
cultivar after release by adding or dropping component lines; Main advantage
cultivar with wide genotypic variability and stability, phenotype satisfies market and
growers requirements; Main disadvantage less uniform, seed stocks difficult to
maintain, multiline cultivar lower yielding than the best component line; Successfully
used in Florida breeding program in the USA to develop Florunner and Florigiant
multiline cultivars.
Variety release procedures: Procedures vary from country to country. The procedure
followed in India is given below; New varieties in India can be released either at the
central level by the Central Sub-committee on Crop standards, Notification and Release
of Varieties (CVRC) or at the state level by the respective State Variety Release
Committees (SVRC).

Variety release at the central level: Three steps involved in release of a potential

advanced breeding line as a variety by the CVRC: (1) Evaluation, (2) Identification,
and (3) Release and Notification followed by seed multiplication.
During the Annual All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) Workshops, a
breeder, with supporting evidence of superior performance in station trials, may
propose his new breeding line(s) for inclusion in multilocation AICRP trials; For each
crop, based on climatic and edaphic factors, the country has been divided into various
agroecological zones and in each zone are several testing locations; Each genotype
has to be evaluated for at least three years in a 3-tier system of AICRP trials (Initial
Varietal Trial (IVT), Advanced Varietal Trial I (AVT I) and Advanced Varietal Trial II
Page 52

(AVT II)) before it is considered for Identification for release by the Variety
Identification Committee (VIC) constituted by ICAR each year during the Annual
Workshop of the respective crops.
An IVT is conducted at all the locations across all the zones for a particular crop;
Entries tested in IVT for one year only and those found promising (at least 10%
advantage in yield) promoted in respective zones to the Advanced Varietal Trial I (AVT
I) for further evaluation; At this stage, the entries evaluated in a specific zone (s) and
simultaneously, also screened for reaction to diseases and insect pests in screening
nurseries; On the basis of yield superiority, the entries promoted to AVT II for further
evaluation in respective zones; In AVT II, the promoted entries again evaluated for
yield and other agronomic traits at all locations where AVT I was conducted; Entries
are again screened against diseases and insect pests and also evaluated in separate
agronomic trials (varieties x date of sowing, variety x fertilizer doses, varieties x
number of irrigations, variety x spacing, etc.) to work out suitable agronomic practices
for the new entry and also to test its performance in bigger plots.
Based on 3-year AICRP trials data, the concerned breeders submit proposal to the
Variety Identification Committee (VIC), which meets during the Annual Workshop of
the AICRP; VIC identifies suitable varieties for potential release based on 3-year data
on performance of the variety as compared to check, seed quality and 2-year data on
resistance to major diseases and insect pests; Variety should have at least 10% higher
yield than the best local check or should have superiority in resistance to any major
biotic/abiotic stress if it is at par with best local check in yield performance; After a
variety is identified for release, the concerned breeder submits a proposal in a
prescribed format for consideration of CVRC for its release and notification; Breeder
of the new variety should ensure availability of sufficient quantity of Breeder seed of
the proposed new variety for conducting front line demonstrations in farmers fields
and for further seed increase by public sector seed agencies.
The CVRC consists of Deputy Director General (DDG) (Crop Science), ICAR as
chairman of the Committee, Production Commissioner, Government of India (GoI);
Project Director and Project Coordinator (of respective crops); Principal Investigators;
Directors of Agriculture of all the states; a representative of National Seeds
Corporation (NSC); Director (High Yielding Varieties), Ministry of Agriculture; and
Deputy Commissioner (Seeds); Once a variety is released by the CVRC, the Director
(High Yielding Varieties) notifies the concerned authorities for its seed multiplication
and distribution; Notification of a variety appears in the Gazette of India.
A variety must be notified by the Ministry of Agriculture to qualify for seed certification
by the Seed Certification Agency of different states; After its notification, Foundation
seed of the newly released variety is produced and the Certified seed in the next
season; In the third crop season the Certified seed of the new improved variety is
available for commercial cultivation; Nucleus and Breeder seed production is the
responsibility of the concerned breeder/institute; Foundation and Certified seed
production is generally undertaken by the public sector seed agencies.

Page 53

Variety release at the state level: Procedure for release of varieties at the state level

may slightly vary from one state to another; State agricultural universities (SAUs)
follow their own system of multilocation evaluation including adaptive trials within the
state.

If a genotype performs well in adaptive trials in a particular state for 3 consecutive

years, it can be identified by the State Variety Release Committee (SVRC) for
release in that particular state provided that the concerned genotype has been
evaluated under AICRP for at least one year.
Breeder of the new variety first submits the proposal to the University level varietal
release committee which evaluates the proposal and recommends only selected
proposals to the SVRC.
SVRC consists of (1) Director of Agriculture of the state as its chairman, (2)
Director, State Seed Corporation, (3) Director, State Seed Certification Agency, (4)
Additional Directors of Agriculture of the state, (5) Joint Directors of Agriculture of
the state, and (6) Directors of Research of all agricultural universities of the state;
In addition, Deputy Directors of Agriculture of the state, Officer-in-charge of all
Regional Agricultural Testing and Demonstration Centres and Breeders,
Agronomists, Pathologists and Entomologists of all agricultural universities and
institutes in the state are also invited though they are not the members of the
SVRC.
Once a variety is released at the state level by SVRC, a proposal for its notification
is submitted by the concerned breeder with all requisite documentation to CVRC.
This notification is essential if the variety has to enter formal seed production
program.

The seed of a variety/hybrid developed by the private sector can be produced and
marketed by the concerned seed company as Truthful Labelled seed after its initial
evaluation in AICRP trials.
Farmer-participatory varietal selection (FPVS) and plant breeding (FPPB): These two
activities empower farmers to influence the outcome of the plant breeding research
to suit their requirements.

FPVS: Allows farmers to select among advanced breeding lines or genetically stable

populations through on-farm farmer-participatory varietal selection trials; Various

models of FPVS trials are being pursued in on-farm trials (researcher-designed and
researcher-managed, researcher-designed and farmer-managed and farmer-designed
and farmer-managed); Trials can follow various experimental designs based on the
purpose of the trials and availability of seed material, etc.; Mother-Baby trials appear
to be most popular design in FPVS; FPVS meets immediate need of better germpalsm
of the farmers as it identifies the material best suited to the farmers need and socioeconomic conditions and agroecological conditions prevailing in the locality; Also
allows multiplication and wide distribution of seed of farmer-preferred varieties
through on-farm FPVS trials; FPVS also helps to identify varieties which should be used
as parents in future hybridization program; Recent example of FPVS in groundnut release of ICGV 91114 in 2006 in Andhra Pradesh, in 2008 in Odisha and in 2009 in
Page 54

Karnataka, of ICGV 87846 in 2010 as CO 6 and of ICGV 00351 in 2013 as CO 7 in

Tamil Nadu in a short-period of time in India.

FPPB: Allows farmers participation in a crop improvement program at various levels,

which is non-existent in conventional breeding; In complete participatory breeding

model, farmers involvement at all stages selection of source germplasm, trait
development (pre-breeding), cultivar development and varietal evaluation; In an
efficient participatory breeding, farmers involved at the selection of source germplasm
and varietal evaluation stages; In traditional farmer breeding, all stages of crop
improvement conducted by the farmers themselves without any input from the
scientists; FPPB consumes more resources if selection activities carried out in farmers
fields; It should be used when the possibilities of FPVS have been exhausted; FPPB
can be conducted at several locations with the same breeding populations to identify
the best material suited to local conditions by exploiting G x E for the benefit of
farmers; However, cultivation of several varieties enhances genetic diversity in
farmers fields but may pose problem in seed production and certification program;
FPPB is a demand driven process whereas the conventional breeding is supply
driven; Desirable to involve market players and processors also at appropriate stage
in the evaluation of the varieties/breeding materials.

9. Genomics
Genomics: Understanding the highly complex structures and processes that make up
a phenotype by integrating knowledge of organization, regulation and interaction of
genome to create structures products and activities; Groundnut has lagged behind in
use of molecular genetic technology due to the shortage of genome infrastructure,
tools and resources and low levels of molecular polymorphism observed in cultivated
species.
Marker-assisted selection (MAS): A plant breeding tool proposed in 1923, based on
principle use of easy-to-score phenotypes to select difficult-to score or low
heritability traits that are linked to them; A good marker should i. permit separation
of homozygotes from heterozygotes to allow more genetic gain per generation ii. have
early expression in the plant to save time on waiting for the desired phenotype to
develop, and iii. not have interaction with other markers; Initially breeders depended
on morphological markers but these have either dominance effects, late expression of
phenotype, epistatic relationship or have deleterious effect on the plant and as such
do not qualify as good markers; Efficiency of MAS is dependent on quality of mapping
process which requires substantially contrasting parents for target trait, precise
phenotyping technique and large mapping population; Cost effective application of
MAS requires one marker very close (or preferably within) to the gene of interest and
two markers closely flanking either side and that these markers are based on simple
robust PCR-based marker-assays; Construction of a genetic linkage map is necessary
to facilitate QTL analysis and gene tagging to apply marker-assisted selection in a
crop.
Polymorphism: Natural variation in a gene, DNA sequence, or chromosome that has
no adverse effects on the individuals and occurs with fairly high frequency in general
Page 55

variation; Involves one of two or more variants of a particular DNA sequence; Most
common polymorphism involves variation at a single base pair, can also be much
longer in size and involve long stretches of DNA; Essential for marker-assisted
molecular breeding; Abundant polymorphism in wild Arachis species but only limited
or moderate polymorphism in cultivated groundnut.
Reasons for abundant morphological variation
but limited polymorphism:
Morphological traits are altered by one or a few major genes with expression
influenced by modifiers and epistatic interactions and intense selection pressure under
cultivation results in diversification; Variation for biochemical and molecular markers,
which are not subject to direct selection, often decreases during domestication;
Apparent lack of variation at the molecular level could be due to isolation of cultivated
groundnut from other Arachis species soon after polyploidization of the single
hybridization event between A. duranensis and A. ipaensis followed by successive
selection during breeding efforts.
Quantitative trait loci (QTLs): Stretches of DNA containing or linked to the genes that
underline a quantitative trait; Identification and mapping of QTLs required for markerassisted breeding.
Molecular markers: Have great potential for increasing breeding efficiency because
they have a. large numbers of polymorphisms, b. alternate alleles rarely deleterious
at the molecular or whole plant level, c. often co-dominant, d. allow all genotypes to
be distinguished in each generation, e. rarely segregate in epistatic ratio, f. scoring of
molecular markers not dependent upon gene expression, g. not affected by
environment, h. an accurate genotype can be established using any plant tissue at
any development stage, i. are useful in pyramidizing desirable genes and in tracking
them through generations of backcrossings, and j. reduced requirement of the time
and space necessary to evaluate plant population; However, a large number of
markers must be evaluated for association with various traits and the linkage between
markers and desired traits must be known for effective breeding. Different types of
markers are described below.

Isozymes: Any two proteins that catalyse the same biochemical reaction but differ in

chemical composition; Earliest molecular marker systems used for plant analyses
based on polymorphisms in enzyme mobility; Found not useful in characterizing
polymorphism in cultivated groundnut.

Restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs): First marker system that had a

large number of polymorphisms; Widely used both to create linkage maps and
implement indirect selection strategies; Can be used to study both recessive genes
and multiple alleles; Being co-dominant, rapidly identifies homozygous individuals;
RFLPs produced by digesting DNA with restriction endonucleases that recognize
specific DNA sequence and then cleave the DNA strand in or near the sequence;
Radioactivity is used to label the probes and bands are visualized in an auto
radiograph; Disadvantage cost and time involved in the assay; Little variation
detected by RFLPs in cultivated groundnut but significant variation observed among
wild Arachis species.
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Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD): A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) -

based marker system that detects only dominant markers; Requires only small amount
of DNA to screen large number of markers, does not require radioactivity, very
sensitive to polymorphism and easy and rapid to perform; Very little variation detected
in cultivated groundnut but large amount of genetic variation detected among wild
Arachis species.

Sequence characterized amplified regions (SCARs): Also a PCR-based marker system,

SCAR is a genomic DNA fragment at a single genetically defined locus that is identified
by PCR amplification using a pair of specific oligonucleotide primers; Superior to RADP
markers as it is less sensitive to reaction conditions, does not require radioactivity, can
be used as co-dominant genetic markers; Dominant SCARs may be used as a quick
plus/minus assay for a particular product.

Amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs): Also a PCR-based dominant

marker system that combines benefits of RFLPs and RAPDs; Like RAPDs no knowledge
of nucleotide sequence required; About 10-fold increase over RAPDs in number of loci
screened; Showed less variation in cultivated groundnut.

Diversity arrays technology (DArT) markers: A DNA segment, present or absent in a

defined genomic representation, depending upon the individual genotype; Many

methods available to produce a genomic representation; Not very useful in genetics
and breeding applications.

Simple sequence repeats (SSR) or microsatellite markers: More variable than other

marker systems; Co-dominant and easily detected from relatively little amount of DNA
after PCR amplification; Higher levels of polymorphism particularly with longer TC
motif repeats; Transferable among related species; Currently preferred markers of
choice in groundnut as they work easily in the tetraploids; More than 3000 SSR
markers available, many of these SSR markers developed from ESTs.

Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers: Most common type of genetic

variation, each SNP represents a difference in a single nucleotide, highly amenable to

high-throughput genotyping approaches.
Linkage maps: Dense genetic linkage maps essential for wide spectrum of genetics
and breeding applications such as linkage mapping or association analysis based trait
mapping, marker-assisted breeding, map-based cloning and physical map alignment;
Reference genetic maps developed both in diploid AA and BB and in tetraploid
genomes, created enabling comparison of different groundnut maps and even allowing
alignment of maps with other legume species; Marker density, however, is not very
satisfactory especially in the context of large genome size (2800Mb/1C) and 20 linkage
groups (LGs); Using marker segregation data for 10 RILs and one BC population from
the international groundnut community, with the help of common markers across
different populations, a reference consensus genetic map of cultivated groundnut
developed; Map is comprised of 913 marker loci including 911 simple sequence repeats
(SSRs) and 2 cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) loci distributed on 20
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LGs spanning a map distance of 3,607.97 cM with an average map density of 3.94 cM;
This reference consensus map will serve as a reliable reference for aligning new
genetic and physical maps, performing QTL analysis in a multi-populations design,
evaluating the genetic background effect on QTL expression, and several other genetic
and molecular breeding activities in groundnut. As more research groups are getting
involved in genomics of groundnut, the linkage map is getting saturated fast.
Targeting Induced Local Lesions IN Genomes (TILLING): A reverse genetic technique
that requires knowledge of gene sequences since mutants are detected by screening
for DNA sequence changes rather than phenotypic differences (forward genetics);
Used to find genes of interest in a mutant population of a species, to enhance genetic
diversity available for exploitation and in functional genomic studies; A tilling
population of over 3400 mutant lines from Tifrunner groundnut cultivar generated
using chemical mutagenesis and screened for mutation in six genes.
Expressed Sequence Tags (EST): Important transcriptome resources for major crops
including crops with large genomes (such as groundnut), where genome sequence is
not available, to enable gene discovery, microarray gene expression analysis and
molecular marker development and genetic map construction; Many plant EST libraries
sequenced as an alternative to whole genome sequencing where genome is complex
and large; NCBI EST database contains 225,264 ESTs from groundnut as of Nov 2011;
ESTs will complement the whole genome sequence.
BAC libraries: Large insert genomic DNA libraries such as bacterial artificial
chromosome (BAC) libraries provide a platform for physical mapping, map-based
cloning of the genes for traits of interest, analysis of gene structure and function and
genome sequencing; First BAC library with 182,784 clones developed for tetraploid
groundnut cultivar Florunner; Recently two BAC libraries for AA and BB genomes.
Genome
sequence
database:
Peanut
Genome
Project
(PGP)
(http://www.peanutbioscience.com/peanutgenomeproject.html) has fully sequenced
the groundnut genome in 2014 and is now engaged in the development genomic
resources for use in groundnut improvement.
Mapping populations: Three primary types of populations used for molecular mapping
- F 2 , backcross, and recombinant inbreds; These are created from F 1 lines that are
derived from two parents that show differing phenotypes for a target trait; Members
of a fixed mapping population contain differing amount of recombination and linkage
disequilibrium between loci; Population is genotyped with molecular markers and
linkage analysis performed to estimate linkage map for population. F 2 and backcross
populations are not eternal and will have to be created each time when DNA is needed;
Recombinant inbreds are eternal as they are maintained by single seed descent
method and are available any time to harvest DNA.

Recombinant inbred lines (RILs): RILs are the offspring of two genetically distant
parents (bi-parental population) that are inbred either through self-fertilization or by
sibling mating; They have a little bit of each parent genome (due to recombination)
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but are homozygous at any given point in the genome so dominance effects do not
need to be considered in subsequent genetic and phenotypic analyses.

Multi-parents advanced generation intercross (MAGIC) population: Population

consisting of RILs originating from multi-parents crossing; Magic populations provide

a useful germplasm resource with diverse allelic combinations for precise QTL mapping
and for direct and indirect use in variety development; They allow parallel high
resolution mapping of different complex traits in the same population.

Chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs): CSSLs, which carry a particular

chromosome segment from a donor line in the genetic background of another line,
are useful populations for detection and mapping of QTLs for target traits; These can
be used for detection of QTLs with small additive effects that are masked by QTLs
with larger effects in primary populations such as F 2 and RIL populations; These are
powerful QTL mapping populations to elucidate the molecular basis of interesting traits
of wild species. These are developed by recurrent backcrossing followed by selfing
(e.g. BC 3 F 4 ).
Comparative mapping: Comparative genomics is an useful approach to define common
attributes among species showing close phylogenetic relationship; Knowledge of
genome structure and gene function gained from one species can be used to study
the other related species; In legumes the knowledge of genome structure and gene
function gained from Glycine, Medicago and Lotus can be applied to other lesser
studied legume species; This will allow breeders to mine desirable genes from
germplasm collection rapidly and cost effectively.
Foreground and background selections: Foreground selection refers to using markers
that are tightly linked to the gene of interest in order to select for the target allele or
gene. Background selection refers to using markers that are not tightly linked to the
gene of interest in order to select against other DNA from the donor parent (i.e., to
select for recurrent parent alleles at other loci than the target).
Status of marker-assisted breeding in groundnut: Molecular markers associated with
resistance to rust, early leaf spot, late leaf spot, Cylindrocladium black rot, tomato
spotted wilt virus (TSWV), nematode, aphids and drought, yield parameters, high oleic
acid and other seed biochemical traits identified; Many of these QTLs not major
(account for < 10% phenotypic variation); Major QTLs identified for rust, late leaf spot
and nematode resistance may be of wild species origin; Genomic selection (GS) now
preferred over marker-assisted backcrossing (MABC) and marker-assisted recurrent
selection (MARS) approaches for improving complex traits.

Root knot nematode: First example of MAS in groundnut breeding transfer of a single
dominant root knot-nematode resistance gene from A. cardenasii into a variety named

Nema TAM in the USA; However, Nema TAM found not suitable for cultivation in
Southeastern USA due to its susceptibility to TSWV; Tifguard, which combines
resistance to root-knot nematode and TSWV, was developed following conventional
breeding approach; Tifguard High O/L, which combines resistance to root-knot
nematode and TSWV and high O/L, was developed following three cycles of
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backcrossing using as pollen donors BC n F 1 progenies selected with molecular markers

for these traits; Use of co-dominant marker allowed backcrossing with heterozygous
lines for high O/L ratio, which is a recessive trait, selfed BC 3 F 2 plants yielded markerhomozygous individuals identified as Tifguard High O/L; Use of MAS backcross
breeding compressed hybridization and selection phases to less than 3 years.

Foliar diseases: With markers (RAPD, EST-SSR and SSR) and QTLs associated with

rust and late leaf spot resistance already identified, marker-assisted breeding efforts
are in progress; Seven markers linked to LLS severity score, which explain 32-59%
phenotypic variations, identified; Two EST-SSR markers closely linked to rust
resistance identified; Soon leaf spot and rust resistant groundnut cultivars developed
through MAS would become available for cultivation by farmers.

Aflatoxin contamination: Six QTLs, each located on a different linkage group, for
resistance to A. flavus invasion explaining 6.2-22.7% phenotypic variation reported.
Drought: Identification of few major, many minor M-QTLs and QTL x QTL interactions

indicates the complex and quantitative nature of drought tolerance in groundnut and
suggest use of marker-assisted recurrent selection (MARS) or genomic selection (GS)
instead of marker-assisted backcrossing approach in breeding to introgress a large
number of QTLs associated with drought resistance.

Tomato spotted wilt virus: Two major QTLs for resistance to TSWV identified.
Insect pests: Three QTLs for component traits associated with bruchid resistance
explaining 14-39% phenotypic variation reported.

High oil/oleic acid content: Three SSR alleles associated with high oil content in wild
Arachis species are absent in cultivated groundnut; Using wild Arachis species the oil
content in cultivated groundnut can be increased; One tightly linked marker each for
high and low oil content reported.

Tifguard High O/L cultivar developed after three accelerated backcrossing combining
nematode resistance from Tifguard and high O/L trait from Georgia-02C and Florida07 following marker-assisted selection.

10. Genetic transformation

Creates new genetic diversity for exploitation in cultivar development and provides
opportunity to combine conventional resistance with nonconventional resistance
harnessed from unrelated organism; Genetic transformation adopted only when a
reliable tissue culture system to regenerate plants exists; Regeneration highly
influenced by genotype, media, light, temperature and growth regulators; Now reliable
regeneration protocols for groundnut available; Gene promoters are the most critical
element for obtaining gene expression in groundnut; Till date (2014) no groundnut
transgenic cultivar released in the world; Public resistance to transgenic food crops,
particularly in Europe, heavy cost of meeting regulatory requirements for the release
of transgenic cultivars including food safety and issues related to patented
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technologies come in the way of field testing and release of transgenic cultivars;
Product of all breeding approaches is a genetically modified genotype when compared
to its predecessor genotype (GMO), the better term for product of genetic
transformation is transgenics; The first transgenic food came in the market in 1996;
In 2012, transgenic crops covered 1.5 billion ha globally; Most of soybean, cotton,
maize and canola in the USA and other countries are transgenic.
Cisgenesis: The process of engineering a genotype with desired genes transferred
artificially between organisms that could otherwise be conventionally bred; Unlike
transgenics, genes are transferred between closely related organisms; Gene belongs
to conventional gene pool, a cis plant contains no foreign gene; Has been used to
transfer natural resistance genes to blight in potato and scab in apple.
Binary vector: A pair of plasmids consisting of a binary plasmid and a helper plasmid
the two plasmids used together to produce genetically modified plants; Both artificial
vectors created from T1 Plasmid found in Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

Agrobacterium - mediated transformation: Groundnut tissues susceptible to infection

by A. tumefaciens include - leaf sections, cotyledonary nodes, longitudinal cotyledon

halves, embryo axes, embryo leaflets, and hypocotyls; A target gene of interest
engineered into the T-DNA region of a disarmed plasmid and introduced into A.
tumefaciens; Transgene within the T-DNA borders further transferred into plant cells
by co-cultivation of A. tumefaciens and wounded plant tissue in appropriate medium;
PCR, which can amplify a few molecules of the gene from residual Agrobacterium
because of its very sensitive nature, Southern Blot assay, where the digesting enzyme
cuts at only one site or not at all within the introduced plasmid, should be used to
confirm gene integration and stable transformation; It is an efficient and rapid
technique for transformation due to circumvention of tissue culture step (4-5 months
to obtain transgenic plants); However, technology is genotype specific and of limited
use in groundnut.
Microprojectile bombardment mediated transformation: Directly transfers target
genes into plant cells by delivering coated microprojectiles at high velocity; Less
dependent on host genotype; Microprojectile bombardment can be followed as long
as groundnut can be generated from somatic tissues; It is low in efficiency, results in
frequent infertility among tissue culture regenerants and takes longer (12-14 months)
from induction of transformation event to plant maturity; Successfully used in
transferring multiple genes for protein and RNAi-mediated gene silencing.
Steps involved and other requirements in field testing and release of transgenics in
India: Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government
of India has issued two publications Recombinants DNA Safety Guidelines and
Regulations in 1990 and Revised Guidelines for Research in Transgenic Plants and
Guidelines for Toxicity Evaluation of Transgenic Seeds, Plants and Plant Parts in 1998
which give guidelines and regulatory requirements to be followed by all those
engaged in recombinant DNA research and product development; Department of
Biotechnology provides an oversight to all DNA recombinant research in the country;
There are different levels of transgenic research; Transgenic research can be carried
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out only in laboratories following good practices and in specified

greenhouse/glasshouse meeting prescribed standards of environmental safety; In
addition to standard agronomic evaluation of transgenic material under controlled
conditions on-station and in fields, biosafety tests are also required; Toxicity evaluation
of transgenic seeds, vegetables and leaves involves oral toxicity tests using rats and
goats and skin irritation tests involving rabbits and guinea pigs; Allergenicity tests are
to be carried out in animal model.
Status of transgenic material: First successful transformation and accompanying plant
generation using microprojectile bombardment technique in groundnut was achieved
in 1993 in the USA; In most cases, the level of resistance achieved through transgenic
is more or less similar to that achieved through conventional breeding; However,
transgenics do provide opportunity to combine conventional resistance with that of
nonconventional resistance to improve the level of protection against pathogen or
stress factors.

Virus diseases: Received more attention than fungal diseases in transgenic research;
Coat protein-mediated resistance, in general, offered only moderate protection; RNAimediated resistance expected to offer higher levels of protection.

Peanut bud necrosis disease (PBND): Both A. tumefaciens- and microprojectile-

mediated genetic transformation approaches using PBNV nucleocapsid gene encoding

for viral coat protein pursued at ICRISAT; Transgenic events with PBNV np gene
showed lower incidence and delayed onset of disease and also recovery from disease
suggesting only a modest tolerance to PBNV; Currently, RNAi-mediated approach
being followed to counter the effect of non-structural silencing suppressor gene (NSs
gene) in the PBNV genome.

Tomato spotted wilt virus disease(TSWV): Protection of transgenic plants against

TSWV under control of both RNA - and protein-mediated control; Nucleocapsid protein
gene (NP) introduced via microprojectile bombardment into New Mexico Valencia A
cultivar and a runner cultivar; A. tumefaciens - mediated transformation also followed;
AT 120 (with antisense nucleocapsid gene) and Marc 1 (with coat protein gene)
cultivars also transformed; Expression of sense or antisense NP gene from TSWV
delayed expression of symptoms and prevented systemic virus infection but did not
provide complete resistance to the disease; This single gene resistance may be shortlived because of highly heterogeneous population of the virus.

Peanut stripe virus disease (PStV): Transgenic plants of Gajah and NC 7 cultivars
containing one of the two forms of PStV coat protein gene (cp 2 or cp 4) exhibited
high levels of resistance to PStV; Mechanism of resistance appears to be RNAmediated.

Peanut stem necrosis disease (PSND): Transgenics produced following A. tumefaciens

- mediated transformation with TSV coat protein gene (TSV cp gene) showed three

symptoms blockage of systemic movement of TSV within the plants, recovery from
an initial infection and subsequent new growth devoid of TSV symptoms and
susceptible reaction; Transgenic lines cv. JL 24 containing sense and antisense coat
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protein gene of TSV using A. tumefaciens - mediated transformation developed;

However, these lines yet to be tested for disease reaction at hotspot locations under
field conditions.

Peanut clump disease: Transgenic lines having IPCV cp and IPCV rep genes of Indian
peanut clump following A. tumefaciens-mediated transformation produced and tested
under containment facilities at ICRISAT; Some events showed resistant phenotype
where the virus titre declined with maturity.

Groundnut rosette disease (GRD): Pathogen-derived resistance (introduction of GRAV

or GRV genomic sequences or genes or SatRNA - derived sequences that down

regulate GRV replication) a potential strategy for controlling GRD through the
generation of transgenic plants; Groundnut transgenics having GRAV cp gene
developed at ICRISAT and currently being tested in South Africa (as the disease does
not occur in India).

Fungal diseases: Several genes (glucanase, chitinase, SniOLP and Rs-AFP2 for late

and early leaf spots, chitinase for rust, oxalate, glucanase and chitinase for sclerotinia
blight and Stilbene synthase, glucanase, chitinase, mod 1, anionicperoxidase,
synthetic peptide D4E1, LOX 1, Nonheme chloroperoxidase (cpo) and Pn LOX 3 for A.
flavus infection and aflatoxin biosynthesis) used in genetic transformation; These
genes suppressed the disease, delayed the onset of disease, enhanced resistance and
decreased disease incidence; In the case of sclerotinia blight, reduced lesion area and
in the case of A. flavus, reduced aflatoxin production also noticed.

Insect pests: Synthetic genes, cry1 EC against S. litura, cry1 X against H. armigera
and S. litura, and cry1 Ac against lesser cornstalk borer showed good promise.
Drought and salinity tolerance: a. A cis-acting transcription factor that binds to
dehydration responsive element (DRE) from Arabidopsis thaliana, AtDREB1 A, under
the control of a stress inducible promoter from the rd29A gene used to develop
transgenic lines with drought tolerance; One transgenic line showed 40% increase in
transpiration efficiency. b. Transgenic lines of groundnut transformed with AtNHX1
showed drought and salt tolerance. c. Transgenic lines transformed with
Isopentenyltransferase (IPT) gene driven by SARK promoter showed improved
biomass retention and an average of 58% yield increase.

Nutritional quality:
Vitamin A: Zmpsy 1 gene from maize and beta-lycopene cyclase gene from tomato
used to enrich groundnut seeds with vitamin A; Second generation transgenic events
showed many fold increase in vitamin A content.
Oleic/Linoleic fatty acid ratio: Transgenic event with an FAD2 gene RNAi construct

showed reduced content of linoleic acid and increased stability of groundnut oil.

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Allergens: Endogenous allergens, Ara h 2 and Ara h 6, silenced by introducing RNAi

construct targeting homologous coding sequence; Human IgE binding to these

proteins was greatly reduced.

Herbicide tolerance: Transgenic groundnut expressing human Bcl-xL gene showed

improved tolerance to paraquat; Transgenic groundnut overexpressing pEGAD-EPSPS
with altered kinetics of enzyme showed improved tolerance to glyphosate (round up).

11. Current status and future needs in groundnut breeding

In the past, market forces, changing climate and economic considerations have caused
shift in varietal scenario in a given region; Prior to 1940, Spanish types covered about
90% area in Georgia in the USA, now 100% area is covered by Runner types due to
their good flavor, better roasting characteristics (suitable for peanut butter) and higher
yields; On the other hand, Runner types have been replaced by the Spanish types due
to frequent and unpredictable droughts and difficulty in their harvesting in Southern
India.
From a large collection of more than 15,000 accessions of cultivated groundnut
germplasm, only a limited number, mostly sources of resistance to diseases and insect
pests, has been utilized in crop improvement; Main reasons for this limited utilization
of resistance sources are their poor agronomic background causing linkage drag,
absence of information on their reaction to other biotic and abiotic stresses and lack
of information on their allelic relationship and combining ability; Keeping the
requirement of consumers and processors with respect to taste and flavor and seed
size and color, breeders in most applied breeding programs prefer to re-use improved
breeding lines in hybridization.
Yield and yield related traits: Newer high-yielding cultivars allocate a great proportion
of dry matter to reproductive tissue early in the growth cycle with greater reproductive
efficiency than the older cultivars; Newer releases in the USA also have more spreading
growth habit and greater seed and pod weight than the earlier releases; In India also,
the increase in yield in newer Spanish releases was largely due to gain in seed size,
seed weight and number of pods.
Selection either for higher pod yield or for greater harvest index essential for
improvement of yield potential in future cultivars; Remobilization of reserves from
vegetative dry matter to pods under conditions of source limitations (falling
temperature, defoliation by pathogens or water stress) likely to be significant in
maintaining yields but may limit response to improved conditions specially with high
partitioning.
Un-constricted and deeply constricted pods - commercially unacceptable, the former
with flat seed ends make blanching difficult and their seeds tend to split during shelling
out operation which may damage embryo, in the case of latter, harvesting and shelling
out is difficult; Strongly reticulated pods also not preferred as they do not come out
clean at the time of harvesting.
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Genetic gains in groundnut breeding: Between 1944 and 1987, the average yearly

genetic gain for yield in Virginia market type cultivars in the USA - 14.7 kg/ha; When
the emphasis in groundnut breeding in the USA shifted to pest resistance, earliness
and quality, the new cultivars improved upon these traits while maintaining the yield
but failed to combine them with genes for increased yield potential; During 1980s and
mid-1990s, the groundnut yield in India increased by 1.4% per annum; Increase of
0.43% per year in seed yield, of 0.29% in seed weight and of 0.52% in pod growth
rate during 1948-2004 obtained in Argentina.
There still remains a huge gap between realized and potential yield of groundnut in
most developing countries; Breeding programs in developing countries should aim at
bridging this gap in yield through resistance breeding against biotic and abiotic
stresses.
Resistance to foliar fungal diseases: Early leaf spot (caused by Cercospora
arachidicola, ELS), late leaf spot (caused by Phaeoisariopsis personata, LLS), and rust
(caused by Puccinia arachidis) are most widely distributed and economically important
foliar diseases of groundnut; Only one leaf spot dominates in a region, however, both
pathogens can be observed in the same field; Infector-row technique used to screen
germplasm and breeding materials in the field; Combining high levels of resistance to
early and late leaf spots into high yielding cultivars with acceptable market traits
continues to be difficult; Resistance to leaf spots generally associated with late
maturity, longer incubation and latent periods, reduced sporulation, smaller lesion
diameter, lower infection frequency and less defoliation in resistance sources; Level
of resistance to foliar diseases very high in wild Arachis species, interspecific
derivatives confer higher levels of resistance to progenies; Resistance to ELS and LLS
inherited independently in wild species.

ELS: More serious in southern Africa and the USA; Tolerant A. hypogaea genotypes

identified in Malawi (4), western Africa (18) and India (15) with a disease score
between 3.6 and 6.3 on a 1-9 scale where 1=no disease and 9=more than 81% foliage
destroyed; Resistant sources reported from the USA (NC 3033, PI 270806, PI 259747
and PI 350680) found susceptible in India and Malawi; Genotypes ICG 6284, ICG
6902, ICG 7878, ICG 10000, ICG 10948 and ICG 13917 show some resistance at more
than one location; Rate-reducing resistance quantitative in nature and controlled
predominantly by additive gene effects; Narrow sense heritability varies from low to
high; Resistant wild Arachis species among others include A. cardenasii, A.
chacoense, A. stenosperma, A. appressipila, A. pusila, A. kempff-mercadoi, A.
batizocoi, A. diogoi, A. hagenbeckii, A. glabrata and A. repens; ELS tolerant cultivars
reported, among others, in India - ICGS 44, ICGS 76, M 335, BG 3, Somnath, CSMG
84-1, M 522, Prutha and GG 7 and in the USA Georgia-01R and Georgia-05E.

LLS: Sixty-nine A. hypogaea genotypes tolerant to LLS with disease score ranging

between 3 and 5 on a 1-9 scale identified 49 of these landraces belong to var.

peruviana with low yield and poor shelling outturn; High levels of resistance/immunity
in wild Arachis species A. cardenasii, A. chacoense, A. stenosperma, A. repens, A.
appressipila, A. hagenbeckii, A. glabrata, A. batizocoi, A. duranensis, A. correntina, A.
villosa, A. pusila, A. diogoi, A. kempff-mercadoi and A. paraguariensis; Some tolerant
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cultivars released: India RG 141, ICG(FDRS) 4, ICGV 86590, ICGV 86325, K 134,
Girnar 1, GBPD 4, R 8808, ALR 1, ALR 2, ALR 3,BSR 1, VRI 5 and CSMG 84-1 among
others, USA - Southern Runner, Florida MDR 98, C-99R, Georgia-01R and Georgia05E.

Rust: One hundred and sixty-nine A. hypogaea genotypes reported resistant (a score
of five or less on a 1-9 scale); Of these 135 landraces belong to var. peruviana many

(ICG 7896, ICG 7897, ICG 7899, ICG 10014, ICG 10030, ICG 10052, ICG 10053, ICG
10067, ICG 10933, ICG 10939, ICG 10940, and ICG 10943) have a disease score of <
3 but are agronomically poor (low shelling outturn, thick pod shell, strong pod
reticulation and unacceptable seed coat color); New sources of resistance ICG
10056, ICG 10567, ICG 10925, ICG 10932, ICG 11108, ICG 12059, ICG 12112, and
ICG 12113 and the interspecific derivatives involving A. batizocoi and A. duranensis
have high levels of resistance with good agronomic potential and resistance to other
biotic stresses; Several other species belonging to section Arachis are either immune
or highly resistant A. cardenasii, A. chacoense, A. stenosperma, A. repens, A.
appressipila, A. hagenbeckii, A. glabrata, A. batizocoi, A. duranensis, A. correntina, A.
villosa, A. pusila, A. diogoi, A. kempff-mercadoi, A. paraguariensis, A. villosulicarpa, A.
spegazzinii; Some resistant cultivars released in India ICG(FDRS) 4, ICG(FDRS) 10,
ICGV 86590, GBPD 4.

Multiple resistance to foliar diseases: Resistance to rust and LLS is correlated (r=0.48-

0.60); Forty-two LLS resistant genotypes also resistant to rust ICG 1703, ICG 4995,
ICG 10920 and interspecific derivative ICG 13917 [259-2 (red)] useful in multiple
resistance breeding, the last one being resistant to all three pathogens; Other useful
sources of resistance to both LLS and rust with agronomic potential: A. hypogaea
genotypes ICG 6330, ICG 7884, ICG 10023, ICG 10035 and ICG 11182, interspecific
derivatives ICG 11312, ICG 11317 (also resistant to ELS), ICG 11321, ICG 11325,
ICG 11337, ICG 13916, ICG 13917, ICG 13919, ICG 13920 and ICG 13922; Several
wild Arachis species have very high levels of resistance or immunity to all the three
foliar diseases.

Future needs: Levels of resistance to leaf spots (both ELS and LLS) in cultivars need

further improvement; As LLS and rust often occur together, a combined resistance to
these pathogens required; However, often with higher levels of resistance, crop
duration is enhanced; Higher levels of resistance to foliar fungal diseases required in
short-duration cultivars without affecting their duration; Similarly, linkage drags (poor
pod shape, unattractive seed coat color, thick shell, low partitioning, etc.) need to be
eliminated completely in resistant cultivars; Desirable to intermate second or third
generation advanced breeding lines originating from different parents including
interspecific derivatives to improve the level of resistance against foliar diseases
without bringing in linkage drags.
Resistance to soil-borne diseases: Breeding for resistance to soil-borne fungal diseases
continues to be a difficult task as creating uniform disease pressure in disease
screening nursery remains challenging; Among the soil-borne diseases, A. flavus
infection and aflatoxin contamination receives the maximum attention; Other
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important soil-borne diseases include white mold, cylindrocladium black rot (CBR),
sclerotinia blight, collar rot and dry root rot/dry wilt.

A. flavus/ A. parasiticus seed infection and aflatoxin production: Three barriers to A.

flavus/ A. parasiticus seed infection and aflatoxin production - pod wall, seed coat and

cotyledons; Resistance to pod infection attributed to shell wall structure and that of
seed coat to thickness and density of palisade layers, absence of fissures and cavities
and presence of wax and cutin layers on the seed coat; Three resistance mechanisms
preharvest resistance, seed coat resistance (in vitro seed colonization (IVSC)) and
cotyledon resistance (aflatoxin production), their independent inheritance provides
opportunity for gene pyramiding; Sources resistant to preharvest infection ( 2%; 21
genotypes - ICG 1122, ICG 1173, ICG 1323, ICG 1326 (J 11)*, ICG 1859, ICG 1994,
ICG 3263 (U 4-47-7)*, ICG 3267, ICG 3336*, ICG 3700*, ICG 4589, ICG 4749 (PI
337394 F)*, ICG 4888, ICG 7633 (UF 71513)*, etc.; *consistent across locations),
IVSC ( 15% seed colonized; PI 337394F*, PI 337409*, UF 71513, Ah 78223, J 11*,
U $-47-7, Var 27, Faizpur, Monir 240-30 etc.; * consistent across locations and
pathogen pressure) and aflatoxin production (< 0.7 g per kg: ICG 10609, ICG 11682,
ICG 10615, ICG 6760, ICG 9610, etc.) available, but none of these is completely free
from infection or aflatoxin production; Containment of preharvest infection essential
as once infected, the seed cannot be disinfected and the infection is carried forward,
seed coat resistance provides postharvest protection in storage, the ultimate aim is
freedom from aflatoxin production; Recommended for use in breeding because of their
multiple resistance - ICG 1326, ICG 1859, ICG 3263, ICG 3336, ICG 3700, ICG 4749,
ICG 7633, ICG 9407, ICG 9610, ICG 10094, etc.; Drought predisposes groundnut to
aflatoxin contamination, some drought tolerant lines also show low preharvest seed
infection and aflatoxin production; Fatty acid composition and N 2 fixation and related
traits also reported to influence directly or indirectly aflatoxin contamination; A. flavus
sick plot with imposed end-of-season drought during the dry season to avoid
interference from rains used for screening germplasm and advanced breeding lines at
ICRISAT; In the USA, a large-scale field system at a desert location (Yuma, Arizona)
with subsurface irrigation, which allows extended drought in pod zone without causing
any plant mortality, developed and used for screening against A. flavus infection and
aflatoxin production; Important to have more number of replications as plot to plot/
plant to plant variation in preharvest infection could be large in spite of sufficient
number of fungal propagules being present in the soil throughout the disease
screening nursery; Screening for resistance to in vitro seed colonization and aflatoxin
production done in laboratory following protocols prescribed by various researchers;
During field and laboratory screening, not unusual to find nil preharvest infection but
presence of aflatoxin in the same genotype, the reverse also observed; Conventional
breeding alone does not ensure complete freedom from aflatoxin contamination, at
best it is able to combine the level of resistance available in resistant parents with high
yield and other agronomic characters; Level of resistance in breeding line similar to
that of resistance sources, gene pyramiding has also not changed the situation; Elite
breeding lines giving good performance in India and Mali / Niger include ICGV 88145,
ICGV 89104, ICGV 91278, ICGV 91283, ICGV 91284, ICGV 87084, ICGV 87094 and
ICGV 87110 and in China include ICGV 95440, ICGV 95422, ICGV 94435, ICGV 95435
and UF 71315.
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Future needs: Sampling procedures and screening methods including development of

a sick plot need to be further refined to improve uniformity of infection,

characterization and precision of estimation of infection and aflatoxin production in a
genotype in a consistent manner; Allelic relationship among resistant sources to
ascertain if they possess different resistance genes; Marker-assisted selection likely to
improve efficiency of breeding; Similarly, genetic transformation also has potential to
produce aflatoxin free genotypes.

White mold: White mold or stem rot caused by Sclerotium rolfsii is wide spread in

major groundnut growing areas in the world; Genetic variation for resistance to white
mold exists in cultivated groundnut; Sources of moderate resistance NC 2, NC Ac
18016, NC Ac 18416, ICG 15233, ICG 15234, ICG 15235, ICG 15236, ICGV 96590 and
ICGV 87160 identified at ICRISAT and NRCGCS 47, NRCGCS 99, NRCGCS 131 and
NRCGCS 319 identified at the Directorate of Groundnut Research, Junagadh in India;
Cultivars with moderate resistance released in the USA- Southern Runner, Toalson,
Pronto, Georgia Browne, Sunbelt Runner, Tamrun 96, Georgia-01R and Georgia-05E;
Field screening more consistent than greenhouse screening; Uniformity and level of
inoculum in the sick plot enhanced by adding sterilized oat seed inoculum of S. rolfsii,
but individual plants may still escape, agar disk technique used to screen individual
plants.

Cylindrocladium black rot (CBR): CBR, caused by Cylindrocladium parasiticum, largely

reported from the USA; Screening done at naturally infested hot spot locations;
Genetic variation for resistance to CBR in general, Spanish cultivars most resistant,
Valencia cultivars most susceptible and Virginia cultivars moderately susceptible (NC
8C, NC 10C, NC 12C); Complex inheritance- resistance delays the onset of epidemics
rather than the rate of disease progress.

Sclerotinia blight: Sclerotinia blight, caused by Sclerotinia miner Jagger, important in

Virginia and Oklahoma in the USA; Genetic variation for resistance to Sclerotinia blight
in general, cultivars with Spanish ancestry more resistant than those with Valencia
and Virginia ancestries; Complex inheritance of resistance (dominance, epistatis and
cytoplasmic factors); Detached shoot technique, which rely on rate of lesion growth
and development, and disease infected fields (hot spot) used for screening;
Interspecific lines derived from A. hypogaea x A. cardenasii cross highly resistant;
Cultivars with Spanish ancestry more resistant than those with Valencia or Virginia
ancestries; Spanish cultivars Toalson and Tamspan 90 have good resistance.

Collar rot: Also known as crown rot or seedling blight is caused by Aspergillus niger;
No breeding program in progress.

Dry root rot/Dry wilt: It is caused by Macrophomina phaseolina (sclerotial stage

known as Rhizoctonia bataticola); No breeding program in progress.
Future needs: Soil-borne diseases are becoming increasingly important and they
require more research attention; Higher levels of genetic resistance to all soil-borne
diseases needed in released cultivars; Resistance of wild Arachis species, particularly
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A. cardenasii, to Sclerotinia blight needs to be exploited to develop cultivars with

higher levels of resistance.

Resistance to virus diseases: Of the 31 viruses from 14 genera naturally infecting

groundnut, only nine are economically important in different parts of the world peanut mottle potyvirus (PMV), peanut stripe potyvirus (PStV), peanut clump furovirus
(PCV), groundnut rosette disease (GRD) complex, tomato spotted wilt tospovirus
(TSWV), peanut stunt cucumovirus (PSV),cowpea mild mottle carlavirus (CMMV),
cucumber mosaic cucumovirus (CMV), peanut bud necrosis tospovirus (PBNV) and
tobaco streak ilavirus (TSV); However, the breeding attention is focussed on PBNV,
TSWV and GRD.

Peanut bud necrosis disease (PBND): PBND, caused by peanut bud necrosis virus
(PBNV), is economically important in south and southeast Asia; Transmitted by Thrips
palmi virus acquired by the larvae but transmission is exclusively by adults; Not seed

transmitted; Sources of resistance in cultivated groundnut Several germplasm

accessions with consistently low disease incidence in the field (ICG 848, ICG 851,
ICG 852, ICG 862, ICG 869, ICG 885, ICG 2271, ICG 2306, ICG 2307, ICG 2323,
ICG 2741, ICG 3042, ICG 3806, ICG 3873, ICG 5030, ICG 5024, ICG 5043, ICG
5044, ICG 6135, ICG 6317, ICG 6323, ICG 7676, ICG 7892 and others) and breeding
lines, ICGV 86031 and ICGV 86388, resistance to both vector and PBNV, Other lines
with resistance to PBND under field conditions include DRG 18, ICG 7812, ICG (FDRS)
10, ICGV 80325, JSSP 3, KNG 22 and PI 393516; Highly resistant wild species in
section Arachis free from disease or virus in the field A. duranensis (ICG 8199 (PI
468200), ICG 8956 (PI468201), ICG 11552 (PI 475882), ICG 11553 (PI 475883) and
ICG 11555 (PI 475885), A. correntina (ICG 8132 (PI 262808)), A. monticola (ICG 8189
(PI 468199)), A. cardenasii (ICG 11564, ICG 13164 and ICG 13165), A. villosa (ICG
8144 and ICG 13168); Genetics of resistance Three factors with additive gene effects
responsible for low disease incidence, Resistance stable across environments,
Significant gca, sca and reciprocal effects observed but gca predominant, Because of
significant reciprocal effects, the resistant source should be used as female parent in
hybridization, Nonadditive gene effects also reported for low PBND incidence, In an
another study additive gene effects were found major contributors to PBND resistance
besides add x add and dominance gene effects; Resistant cultivars released - CO 3,
ICGS 11, ICGS 44 (ICGV 87128), ICGS 37 (ICGV 87187), R 8808 (KRG 2), R 9251, K
134, DRG 12, RSHY 1, Kadiri 4 among others in India and Khon Kaen 6 in Thailand;
Sources of resistance to vector NC Ac 2242, NC Ac 2214, NC Ac 2243, NC Ac 2240,
NC Ac 2232, NC Ac 2230 and others.

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) disease: TSWV is a major disease problem in
groundnut producing areas of the USA; Transmitted by thrips species Frankliniella
fusca (Hinds) (tobacco thrips) and F. occidentalis (Pergande) (western flower thrips),
F. intonsa, F. schultzei, S. dorsalis, Thrips tabaci, T. palmi and T. setosus in a persistent
manner- the first two primary vectors; Not seed or pollen borne; Sources of resistance
in cultivated groundnut PI 203396 (also resistant to LLS), PI 196621, PI 339967, PI
341267; Highly resistant wild species in section Arachis A. diogoi (PI 468141), A.
helodes (PI 468144), Arachis sp. (PI 468345, PI 468370, and PI 468371) A. correntina;
Genetics of resistance - Significant general and specific combining abilities and
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transgressive segregation for TSWV reported; however, genetic mechanism of

resistance not elucidated; Breeding lines derived from varieties hypogaea and hirsuta
have higher resistance to TSWV; TSWV resistant/tolerant cultivars in the USA
Southern Runner, Georgia Browne, Georgia Green, Tamrun 96, Georgia Bold, Georgia
Hi-O/L, Georgia 01R, Georgia-05E, Georgia-10T, C-99R, Florida MDR 98, Tifguard,
Georganic (highest level of field tolerance among cultivars) and others however,
they may suffer significant damage during extreme epidemics.

Groundnut rosette disease: Groundnut rosette diseases (GRD) is confined to African

continent and its surrounding islands; it is a complex of three causal agents

groundnut rosette assistor virus (GRAV), groundnut rosette virus (GRV) and a satellite
RNA (SatRNA); These three agents synergistically act with each other for survival and
spread; GRV is dependent on GRAV for transmission by aphid vector Aphis craccivora
and SatRNA, which is responsible for rosette symptoms, is itself dependent on GRV
for replication; GRV and SatRNA alone do not produce GRD symptoms; GRAV on its
own can cause mild yellowing/chlorosis of leaves and can cause reduction in plant
growth and yield; GRV and SatRNA must be packaged within GRAV coat protein to be
aphid transmissible; GRV is dependent on its SatRNA for encapsidation in coat protein;
GRV on its own produces transient symptoms only; GRV and SatRNA always found
together in nature; the three agents are not seed borne; there are two variants GRD
symptoms chlorotic rosette and green rosette; Chlorotic rosette throughout subSaharan Africa and green rosette, which earlier was largely confined to West Africa, is
now also reported from southern and eastern Africa; SatRNA responsible for symptoms
variation; Resistant sources to GRD in A. hypogaea several pure line selections ( 487, 48-14, 48-15A, 48-21, 48-34, 48-35, 48-36, 48-37, 48-44, 48-45 and 48-70A) from
late maturing Virginia landraces in Burkina Faso; Subsequently several other sources
of resistance to GRD in cultivated groundnut found including short duration Spanish
types from outside Africa; All the sources of GRD resistance are resistant to GRV and
its SatRNA but they are susceptible to GRAV; Resistance to GRD (effective against
GRV and its SatRNA) in cultivated types is governed by two independent recessive
genes which are effective against both chlorotic and green rosette; Resistant cultivars
released in Africa RMP 12, RMP 91, 69-101, KH 241D, KH 149A, RG 1, Nyanda (ICGV
93437), ICGV-SM 90704, ICG 12991, ICGV-SM 99568, ICGV-SM 99555, ICGV-SM
99557, ICGV-SM 01711, ICGV-SM 01721, Samnut 23 (ICGV-IS 96894), Samnut 21
(UGA 2) and Samnut 22 (M572.801); Resistant sources to GRD in wild Arachis species
25 accessions in nine wild Arachis species (A. appressipila (ICG 8127, ICG 8945 and
ICG 14860), A. decora (ICG 14946), A. diogoi (ICG 4983), A. hoehnei (ICG 8190 and
ICG 13232), A. kretschmeri (ICG 8191, ICG 8216, ICG 11558 and ICG 13224), A.
kuhlmannii (ICG 13225, ICG 14862 and ICG 14875), A. pintoi (ICG 13222, ICG 14855,
ICG 14856 and ICG 14888), A. stenosperma (ICG 13171, ICG 13173, ICG 13187, ICG
13210 and ICG 14872) and A. villosa (ICG 13168); A. chacoense immune to both GRV
and GRAV; Wild Arachis species may have different genes foe resistance; Sources
resistant to aphid vector EC 36892 (ICG 5240) and ICG 12991 (released as Baka in
Malawi and as Serenut 4T in Uganda)- show less GRD but they are susceptible to all
the three agents of GRD.

Future needs: Combining virus resistance with vector resistance to improve the levels

of resistance to virus diseases; As coat protein gene in transgenics does not give
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complete protection against virus diseases, there is need to pursue RNAi approach to
provide better protection against virus diseases; In the case GRD, unravelling the
mystery of off-season survival of disease causing agents, transfer of resistance to
GRAV from wild Arachis species to cultivated groundnut, study of allelic relationship
among various sources of resistance and development of short-duration GRD resistant
cultivars.
Resistance to bacterial disease:

Bacterial wilt: Bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is a major production

constraint in groundnut in southeast and East Asia; Schwarz 21, a bacterial wilt
resistant variety selected from a local population, was the first diseases resistant
variety released in 1925 in Indonesia; Several sources of resistance, mostly belonging
to subspecies fastigiata, reported from Indonesia and China, some available with
ICRISAT; Many bacterial wilt resistant cultivars released in China (Xiekongchung,
Teishansanliyue, Yue You 13, Yue You 589, Yue You 92, Yue You 256, Yue You 200,
Yue You 256, Yue You 79, Wu You 4, Gui You 28, E Hua 5, Zhong Hua 2, Lu Hua 3,
Yuanza 9307) and Indonesia (Schwarz 21, Gajah, Matjan, Kidang, Banteng, Macan);
ICG 1703, ICG 1705, ICG 7893, ICG 7894 and an interspecific derivative ICG 11325
resistant not only to bacterial wilt but also to rust and LLS; Resistance reported to be
partially dominant involving three pairs of major genes and some minor genes,
recessive resistance also reported, nucleo-cytoplasmic interaction also observed, both
additive and dominant gene actions observed.

Future needs: Important to broaden the genetic base of resistance and improve the

level of stable resistance by harnessing resistance genes from different sources

including wild Arachis species; Combine resistance to bacterial wilt with resistance to
rust and leaf spots; More studies on genetics and mechanisms of resistance.
Insect pests resistance: Breeding for resistance to insect pests lagging behind due to
difficulty in large scale screening of germplasm lines and breeding populations under
sporadic and variable natural insect pests pressure; Only limited screening under
laboratory and field (infester rows with seeding/release of cultured insect pests
population) or controlled conditions (caged/forced feeding) leading to identification of
sources of resistance to insect pests, several with multiple resistances.

Sucking pests: Include mainly thrips (Scirtothrips dorsalis, Thrips palmi, Frankliniella
schultzei, Caliothrips indicus) , jassids (Empoasca kerri) and aphids (Aphis craccivora);

Thrips and aphids also vector of virus diseases; Genotypes resistant to thrips and
jassids reported and some are listed in sections on PBND and TSWV; High density,
distribution and length of trichomes (NC Ac 2214, NC Ac 2230, NC Ac 2240) and thick
leaf cuticle (NC Ac 2242, NC Ac 2243) associated with resistance to thrips and jassids;
Genotypes tolerant to jassid damage: Breeding lines ICGV 86388, ICGV 86252, ICGV
86393 and ICGV 85455, Cultivars Georgia-01R and Georgia-05E; Antibiosis (reduced
growth and fecundity) operates in the case of aphids resistance in NC Ac 343, ICG
5240 (EC 36892), ICG 12991and ICGV 86030 genotypes; Several wild Arachis species
have very high levels of resistance to insect pests (thrips - A. chacoense; jassids - A.
cardenasii, A. duranensis, A. kempff-mercadoi, A. monticola, A. stenosperma, A.
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paraguariensis, A. pusila, A. triseminata, A. batizocoi, A. chacoense); Nonadditive

genetic variance for all trichome characters, additive genetic variance for trichome
length, jassid damage and resistance to complex of insect pests (thrips, jassids and
Helicoverpa).

Defoliators: Major defoliators in groundnut - Leaf miner (Aproaerema modicella),

tobacco caterpillar/ armyworm (Spodoptera litura) and gram pod borer (Helicoverpa
armigera); Other defoliators include hairy caterpillars (Amsacta albistriga and A.
moori) and Bihar hairy caterpillar (Spilosoma oblique); Screening for resistance to
defoliators under natural field conditions difficult because of variation in infestation in
space and time; No-choice cage technique is used to screen for S. litura, nuclear insect
culture is maintained on artificial diet, a known number of first- or third-instar larvae
are released for varying period of time on 15-day old greenhouse grown plants which
are kept inside a plastic jar cage with wire-mesh screen windows, observations on
insect survival (# of surviving larvae and larval weight) and leaf area damage are
recorded; For leaf miner, natural infestation is relied upon, which can be enhanced by
planting soybean as an infester crop and creating prolonged drought, it is difficult to
devise no-choice cage screening for leaf miner.

Breeding lines ICGV 86031, ICGV 87154 and ICGV 87160 and germplasm accessions
ICG 2271 and ICG 1697 show resistance to both tobacco armyworm and leaf miner;
Other genotypes which show promise against leaf miner - NC Ac 343, NC Ac 17090
and ICG (FDRS) 4; Several wild Arachis species also show resistance to these two
insect pests - A. chacoense, A. repens, A. appressipila, A. hagenbeckii, A. glabrata,
A. batizocoi, A. correntina, A. villosa, A. diogoi.

Future needs: Resistance genes from wild Arachis species should be harnessed to

improve resistance to insect pests in cultivated groundnut; Field screening techniques

need to be improved to create desired and uniform insect pressure.
Nematode resistance:

Root knot nematode: Screening involves growing plants in glasshouse and inoculating
them with Meloidogyne arenaria race 1 inoculum cultured on roots of tomato or

eggplants and scoring the roots of 70 day old harvested groundnut plants for root
galls and egg masses; In contrast to moderate level of resistance in cultivated
groundnut, wild Arachis have a high level of resistance against this nematode;
Accessions supporting less egg production of M. arenaria race 1 identified both in
cultivated groundnut and wild species A. cardenasii, A. batizocoi and A. diogoi;
Resistance in A. cardenasii conferred by two dominant genes one gene inhibiting
root galling and the other gene inhibiting egg production; In the USA, root knot
nematode resistant variety Nema TAM was the first variety developed using MAS but
it was susceptible to TSWV, subsequently Tifguard, resistant to both root knot
nematode and TSWV was developed following conventional breeding; Similar to Nema
TAM, COAN , the first release with resistance to M. arenaria is also susceptible to
TSWV, it carries the resistance gene from TxAG 7, which is a backcross derivative of
TxAG-6, a complex interspecific derivative involving A. cardenasii, A. batizocoi and A.
diogoi.
Page 72

Kalahasti malady: Kalahasti disease caused by stunt nematode (Tylenchorhynchus

brevilineatus) first noticed in 1975/76 in Kalahasti area in Andhra Pradesh, India;

Disease characterized by reduction in pod size and presence of small, brownish yellow
lesions on pegs and young developing pods, later pod surface and roots become
completely discolored; From replicated screening of 1599 genotypes in a hot spot
location in a farmers field in Kalahasti during 1985/86 -1986/87, 14 resistant
genotypes identified; Most of these genotypes had undesirable pod/seed
characteristics with the exception of TCG 1518, an advanced Virginia bunch breeding
line, which was later released as Tirupati 3 for cultivation in disease-affected areas;
In another screening of 39 genotypes during 1992-94, TCGS 307, TCGS 313 and TCGS
320 (released as Kalahasti) were also identified as resistant to the disease with the
last two having pod yield exceeding 3 t/ha.

Future needs: The resistance to nematodes needs to be combined with resistance to

other major biotic stresses operating in a region to derive larger benefits from the
resistance breeding efforts.
Physiological traits:

Drought: A majority of groundnut in developing countries is grown under rainfed

conditions; Although considered a drought tolerant legume, it can suffer early-season,

mid-season, end-of-season or intermittent droughts impacting adversely on yield and
yield-related characters including quality of the produce due to reduced
photosynthesis, N 2 fixation and calcium uptake by developing pods; Impact depends
upon the timing of occurrence, duration and intensity of drought; A 20 to 26 - day
moisture stress soon after crop emergence is beneficial to the crop as it forces roots
to go to deeper layers of soil and when the moisture stress is released it induces
profuse flowering resulting in synchronized and uniform maturity and increased yield;
The adverse effect of end-of-season drought can be overcome by developing shortduration varieties with their life cycle matching the period of soil moisture availability;
Mid-season drought is the cause of concern as insufficient water at the time of
flowering and fruiting reduces the yield significantly.
Direct selection for yield under drought is effective but is resource consuming and
lacks repeatability across different environments; Passioura (1977) gave the following
equation for yield under water-limited conditions: Pod yield = Transpiration (T) x
Transpiration Efficiency (TE) x Harvest Index (HI); Drought tolerance can be enhanced
by improvements in soil water extraction ability (T) or improvements in water-use
efficiency (TE); Genetic variation for root system and transpiration efficiency (amount
of dry matter produced for each unit of water transpired (g dry matter per kg of water
transpired) is reported, but these traits are difficult to measure; Easily measurable
surrogates for these traits are needed for use in a large scale breeding programs;
Transpiration efficiency is negatively correlated with 13C (carbon isotope
discrimination) in leaves (r= - 0.88 to 0.92), which is rapid but expensive to measure;
13C is highly positively correlated with specific leaf area (SLA, ratio of leaf area to
leaf dry weight), which is easy and inexpensive to measure; SLA has inverse
relationship with relative leaf water content (RWC) and the low SLA types are drought
Page 73

tolerant as they are able to maintain higher RWC; However, SLA is influenced by the
time of sampling and age of the leaf; SLA is inversely correlated with SPAD chlorophyll
meter reading (SCMR) (r= 0.77), which, in turn, is positively correlated with TE; SCMR
is measured by a hand held device, which is easy to operate and can rapidly record
observations; Thus, for rapid screening, SCMR can be used in a large scale breeding
programs aiming to improve drought tolerance in groundnut; SLA and SCMR can be
recorded any time after 60 days of crop growth, preferably under moisture deficit
conditions; However, the utility of SLA and SCMR in screening for drought tolerance
has been questioned in some studies.
Sufficient variation for physiological traits such as SLA, WUE, T, TE and HI and in
tolerance to mid-season and/ or terminal droughts is reported; High heritability for HI,
SCMR and 13C and medium to high heritability for SLA are reported; Both additive
and additive x additive gene effects for SLA and HI and additive gene effects for 13C
are reported.
Field screening for tolerance to different droughts is done in dry season by withholding
irrigation as follows: for early-season drought by withholding irrigation for 40 days
after the first irrigation for germination and subsequently following normal irrigation
schedule, for mid-season drought withholding irrigation after 40 days up to 80 days
and before and after drought period following regular irrigation schedule, and for endof-season drought withholding irrigation from 80 days onward till maturity and
following normal irrigation schedule prior to imposition of drought; For germplasm
screening, line-source sprinkler system of irrigation is used to create a gradient of soil
moisture deficit and the genotypes are selected based on biomass and HI; Segregating
populations are screened in the field under imposed drought conditions and selections
are based on pod yield, pod number and pod filling; Surrogates SCMR or SLA can also
be used along with pod yield and other characters in selection of plants/populations;
Both empirical (yield-based) and trait-based approaches are equally effective in
selecting for drought tolerance; In the case of trait-based approach, TE is the major
contributor to pod yield, which indicates more efficient utilization of available water;
However, in the case of empirical approach, it is T which is a major contributor to pod
yield, which indicates better mining of water from soil layers; However, better mining
does not necessarily mean better utilization of water; In case of limited water
availability, enough T may not occur thus impacting on pod yield; It is advisable to
integrate surrogates of TE in the selection scheme for drought tolerance.
Some of the drought tolerant cultivars/genotypes are ICGS 11, ICGS 44, ICGS 76 and
ICG(FDRS) 10 for mid-season drought and TPT 25 for both early- and mid-season
drought in India and 55-437 (also tolerant to aflatoxin contamination), GC 8-35, 5521, 55-33, TS 32-1, SRV 1-3, SR 1-96, ICGV 86024 (also tolerant to leaf spots), ICGV
86124 and ICGV-SM 87003 in West Africa.
When drought occurs, the temperature also rises; Drought and heat tolerance appear
to be correlated; Heat tolerant genotypes include 796, 55-437, TMV 2, ICGS 11, ICG
1236, ICGV 86021, ICGV 87281, ICGV 92121, etc.; In vitro pollen germination, pollen
tube growth, membrane thermostability, growth rates, fruit set and partitioning are
the traits used to record response of groundnut genotypes to high temperature.
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Future needs: Drought tolerant cultivars that are also resistant/tolerant to aflatoxin

contamination in different botanical backgrounds are needed; Adoption of markerassisted recurrent selection (MARS) to accumulate several QTLs with small effects in
a single genotype when the dense linkage map in groundnut becomes available.

Salinity: No targeted program in progress to breed salinity tolerant groundnut; A pot

culture technique standardized for screening for tolerance to salinity in groundnut; In

limited studies, tolerant genotypes (cultivars and breeding and germplasm lines) based
on plant survival and seed yield per plant identified - NRCG 2588, NRCG 4659, NRCG
5513, NRCG 6131, NRCG 6450, NRCG 6820, NRCG 6919, NRCG 7206, TMV 2 NLM, TG
33, JNDS-2004-15, VRI 3, UF 70-103, TKG 19 A, S 206, Tirupati 4, M 522, Punjab 1,
BG 3, Somnath and ICGV 86590.

Seed dormancy: When rainfed groundnut is caught in rains at the time of harvest, it
results in in-situ germination in Spanish and Valencia cultivars, thus causing significant

losses in yield and quality of the produce; Incorporation of 2-3 weeks fresh seed
dormancy in Spanish and Valencia cultivars will help to avoid these losses, which could
reach up to 40%.
Different seed parts seed coat, cotyledons and embryo play a role in imparting
dormancy; Fresh seed dormancy is more under control of testa than cotyledons;
Complexity arises in studying inheritance of seed dormancy when both maternal
(testa) and zygotic (cotyledons) tissues are involved in its control; From monogenic
control with seed dormancy dominant over non-dormancy to quantitative inheritance
with additive, dominance and digenic epistatic effects are reported in literature;
Several Spanish breeding lines/cultivars with fresh seed dormancy are available now;
Most of these originate from Virginia x Spanish/Valencia crosses; Instead of screening
for seed dormancy in early generations, the advanced generation Spanish breeding
lines are screened for fresh seed dormancy in laboratory and under field conditions.

Nitrogen fixation: Nodulation and N 2 fixation are dependent on the interaction

between the host cultivar and the nodulating Bradyrhizobium strain; Virginia types are

superior to Spanish and Valencia types in N 2 fixation; Considerable variation exists for
ability to nodulate and N 2 fixation, which are under genetic control of the host and are
heritable; No directed breeding program currently in progress to improve N 2 fixation
in groundnut; Selection for high yield also indirectly improves N 2 fixation.

Adaptation traits: Growth and development in groundnut is largely driven by

temperature; Optimum temperature (T o ) for growth and development in groundnut
ranges between 27 C and 33 C; Base temperature (T b ) in groundnut ranges between
9 C and 13 C below which the growth ceases; T b varies for different phenological
stages and among genotypes; Growth is slowed down at lower temperatures and it
takes longer for crop to mature; Reverse is observed at relatively higher temperatures,
but at temperatures exceeding 45 C, the growth stops as protein gets denatured; At
temperatures above the optimum, significant reduction in dry matter production and
partitioning of dry matter to pods are observed but flower production is not affected;
Photoperiod does not affect flowering in groundnut but it affects partitioning;
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However, these effects are genotypic specific; Irradiance, together with temperature,
also plays a role in determining the crop duration.

Short-duration: Early maturity is a relative term in India early maturing varieties are

less than 100-day duration whereas in China and USA a variety of 120-day duration
will qualify as early maturing variety; Selection based on days to first flower alone is
ineffective in identifying early maturing lines as other processes also involved in
reaching to maturity; Instead of calendar days, use of cumulative thermal time (CTT)
measured in day degrees (Cd) is recommended for selecting for early maturity at a
given location; CTT is measured in day-degrees (Cd) above the base temperature and
is calculated on successive days by subtracting the base temperature from the mean
daily temperature and adding each value to the sub-total accumulated since the seed
was sown ( CTT (Cd) = ((T max +T min )/2 T b ) ); In photoperiod-insensitive
genotypes the CTT for maturity does not differ across environments barring the
influence of environmental factors other than photoperiod; For photoperiod-sensitive
genotypes, the CTT will vary with photoperiod over the photoperiod-sensitive range.
Based on the past records of temperatures (15-20 years), CTT for the desired crop
duration at a given location should be worked out; When the desired CTT is achieved
the segregating breeding populations are uprooted and plants selected visually in the
field based on number of matured pods (internal pericarp color) and high pod yield
for further laboratory evaluations for seed appearance, uniformity, and maturity, and
plants, finally selected, are advanced to the next generation; Advanced breeding lines
are evaluated for 23 years in on-station replicated trials with staggered harvesting
starting from a predetermined date based on the desired CTT; In addition to pod yield
and pod and seed maturity, extent of further gains in pod yield, seed weight and
shelling turnover in the following staggered harvesting are taken into account while
selecting advanced breeding lines; Those with high pod yield and pod and seed
maturity and minimum gains in pod yield, seed weight and shelling turnover over the
preceding harvest are selected for further multilocation evaluation and selection.
Incorporating large seed size in short duration cultivars is unlikely to succeed as large
seeds take more time to emerge on sowing, and to develop and mature; Similarly,
combining higher levels of resistance to foliar diseases and short-duration will be
difficult to achieve; On the other hand, a moderate level of resistance will have only
limited influence on crop duration and would also stabilize productivity in a cropping
system.
In breeding for early maturity, it is helpful to partition crop duration into different
segments/stages and examine the possibility of shortening their duration individually
and collectively with an overall aim to reduce crop duration; These segments/stages
include days to germination and emergence, days to first flower after emergence, days
from opening of first flower to opening of a given number of flowers per plant and
days from opening a flower to maturation of seeds that develops from that flower;
Based on the botanical characteristics and physiological behaviour of the crop, the
following characteristics could be visualized for attaining short duration of the crop:
short plant stature (plant height in case of subspecies fastigiata and plant spread in
case of subspecies hypogaea) with smaller internodal length, faster germination and
emergence, fewer days to first flowering, and accumulation of a maximum number of
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early flowers, more flowers per node, absence of late flowers, fewer days after
fertilization for a peg to enter soil, faster pod and seed growth, high seed partitioning,
and high shelling turnover; To capitalize on the full potential of the genotypes with
aforementioned traits, it would be essential to modify crop husbandry to accommodate
larger numbers of plants per unit area to provide quick ground cover and to provide
plant with required nutrients and other inputs; The following considerations in
breeding strategy will help to achieve the objective of early maturity along with high
yield: (i) Selection for low Tb and CTT for various phenological stages (ii) Selection for
tolerance to high temperature (iii) Selection for photoperiod-insensitive genotypes (iv)
Selection for high crop growth rate and partitioning (v) Selection for high water-use
efficiency, and (vi) Evaluation in target environments/cropping systems.

Sources of early maturity: Chico, Gangapuri, JL 24, ICG 3540, ICG 3631, ICG 4558,

ICG 4729, ICG 4890, ICG 9427, ICG 9930, ICG 11605, 91776, 91176, Dh 40, ALG(E)
57, TG 1E, TG 2E, TG 3E, etc.

Short-duration cultivars: Pronto and Spanco in the USA, Dh 40, TNAU 97, ALG(E) 57,
GG 3, GG 5, GG 12, TG 26, R 9251, M 522, RS 138, VRI 3 and Co 4 in India and 55437, TS 32-1, 73-30, KH 149A, KH 241D, Te 3 and Fleur 11 in Africa, among others,
in different habit groups.

Methods of estimation of maturity: Determination of optimum maturity critical as it

affects marketable yield, quality, and flavour of the produce; Indeterminate fruiting
characteristic of groundnut results in seed of varying maturities on the same plant as
harvest time approaches; Maturity estimation methods include indirect methods (days
after planting, heat units), relative color evaluations (internal pericarp color, oil color,
methanol extract, pod maturity profile), weight and weight relationships (kernel
density, seed to hull ratio maturity index) and quantification of a specific component
(arginine maturity index and protein markers); Some methods are more complex than
others to evaluate and each method has deficiencies; However, the most commonly
used method by small farmholders in developing countries is internal pericarp color
because of its simplicity; When 75 to 80% pods in cultivars belonging to subspecies
fastigiata and 70 to 75% pods in cultivars belonging to subspecies hypogaea show
internal pericarp darkening, the crop is ready for harvest.

Future needs: Diversification of sources of earliness and studies on their genetic

constitution and allelic relationships are needed to identify different genes for earliness
which could be accumulated in a desired genotype.
Quality traits:

Oil quality: Oxidative stability and shelf life of groundnut and its products can be

enhanced by improving oleic to linoleic fatty acid ratio, which normally ranges between
0.8 and 2.5 in old commercial cultivars; these two fatty acids constitute about 80%
(55% oleic acid (18:1) and 25% linoleic acid (18:2)) of the oil content of groundnut;
Of these two fatty acids, linoleic fatty acid is less saturated and less stable than oleic
acid; In peanut breeding program at the University of Florida in 1987, two breeding
lines originating from F 435, a high oleic acid spontaneous mutant, with 80% oleic
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and 2% linoleic fatty acid composition were identified; With simple inheritance (single
recessive or two recessive genes and some possible modifiers depending upon the
parents involved in the crosses), it is easy to transfer high-oleate trait to other
genotypes through backcross breeding program.
Varieties developed with high O/L ratio in the USA through conventional breeding are
SunOleic 95R, SunOleic 97R, Tamrun OL01, Georgia 04S, Andru II, Florida-07 and
Hull, through chemical mutagenesis are Mycogen-Flavorunner and M 2-225 and
through Gamma radiation are Georgia-02 C and Georgia Hi-high; Varieties with high
levels of oleic fatty acid, when consumed, have beneficial effect on human and animal
health.

Improved flavour: Since 1980, the flavor of roasted groundnut has become an

important consideration in breeding programs engaged in developing Virginia varieties

for direct consumption as it influences consumers acceptance; Several roasted
groundnut quality sensory attributes are heritable; Choice of parents critical in
ensuring good flavor of roasted groundnut in breeding lines; Jenkins Jumbo, one of
the ancestors of USA-bred Virginia varieties, found responsible for their poor roasted
flavour; Parents selected for crossing programs should have at least acceptable
roasted flavour to ensure consumers acceptability for new varieties; During the
selection process all plants with off-type flavour should be rejected.

Biofortification: Large genetic variation exists for Zn (44-95 mg/kg) and Fe (33-68

mg/kg) contents in seeds among groundnut genotypes; Both Zn and Fe could be

improved simultaneously as they are positively correlated; No trade-off between Zn
and Fe contents and pod yield and oil content; High broad sense heritability: Zn
92% and Fe 81%; High yielding and stable genotypes across environments with
high Zn and Fe contents ICGV 06099 and ICGV 06040.

Fodder quality: As groundnut fodder (haulms) is highly valued, dual purpose

groundnut cultivars are preferred in developing countries; In spite of preference for

dual-purpose cultivars, farmers not willing to sacrifice pod yield for fodder yield;
Studies have shown large variation in haulm yield, haulm nitrogen content, in vitro
organic matter digestibility, metabolizing energy content and digestible haulm yield,
high heritability for these traits and absence of any negative relationship between
fodder quality traits and pod or haulm yield, which provide ample opportunities to
improve fodder quality traits; In spite of the need to improve fodder quality and yield,
the primary target trait in groundnut improvement remains pod yield; Due
consideration to haulm yield and its quality parameters in the selection scheme of
cultivars as haulm is an economic component of produce of groundnut crop.

12. Non-genetic management of major production constraints

a. Biotic constraints: Available non-genetic options to manage diseases and insect
pests include - cultural, chemical and biological/botanical control measures; No single
option including resistant cultivars for a given insect pest or disease may be adequate
for maximizing the economic returns; An integrated insect pest and disease
management (IPM and IDM) encompassing various approaches is required to
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effectively and safely contain the damage; Chemical sprays should be need-based and
appropriate safety precautions taken while applying them; For high volume sprayers,
450-500 L and for low volume sprayers 225-250 L water is required to cover 1 ha;
While using chemicals, protective clothing should be borne and proper care should be
taken to dispose of empty bottles/cartons of chemicals in a safe manner.

Foliar fungal diseases: ELS, LLS and rust are the major foliar fungal diseases
distributed worldwide.

ELS: ELS lesions, often surrounded by a yellow hallow, are

sub-circular, dark brown on the upper leaflet surface

where most sporulation occurs and lighter shade of brown
on the lower leaflet surface; Yield losses in southern Africa
and the USA can exceed 50%.
Fig 8. Early leaf spot.

LLS: LLS lesions are nearly circular and darker than those of ELS; On the lower leaflet

surface, where most of the sporulation occurs, the lesions are black and slightly rough
in appearance; It can cause up to 55% yield loss.

Fig 9. Late leaf spot.

Fig 10. Defoliation caused by leaf spots.

When the attack is severe, both the diseases cause severe premature defoliation;
Spores of ELS and LLS causing fungi can survive for years in soil; These diseases can
also spread through airborne inoculum coming from other infected fields.

Rust: Orange colored rust pustules appear on the lower surface of leaflets; On
rupturing, they release masses of reddish-brown spores; In contrast to the rapid
defoliation associated with leaf spots, leaves infected with rust become necrotic and
dry up, but tend to remain attached to the plant; It can cause yield losses in excess
of 50% and when it occurs in combination with LLS, the losses can reach 60-70%; As
rust spores do not survive for long under ambient conditions (not more than 30 days
under ambient conditions in South India), its inoculum is mostly airborne and comes
from other infected fields.

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Fig 11. Rust hot spot in the field.

Fig 12. Groundnut rust.

Management: Generally, ELS, LLS and rust start appearing on the lower leaves from

30-35 days after sowing in humid regions and spread rapidly in favorable weather
conditions; If not managed properly at the initial stage, the crop losses could be
severe; Effective chemical control measures are available for these diseases
(Chlorothalonil 75 WP 1kg/ha for combined occurrence of leaf spots and rust,
Carbendazim 50 WP 500 g/ha or Mancozeb 50WP 1kg/ha for both leaf spots and
Calixin 250 ml/ha for rust alone); Chemical control measures should start soon after
the appearance of disease symptoms; Spray schedule varies depending upon the
agroclimatic conditions and severity of the diseases; Number of sprays can be reduced
by following integrated disease management practices; In the USA and other
developed countries, farmers follow weather-based disease management advisory to
optimize chemical use and increase its effectiveness; In many countries, rust resistant
and leaf spots tolerant cultivars are now released; In disease endemic areas, these
cultivars together with limited chemical control provide best economic returns; In the
case of severe premature defoliation, it is advisable to harvest the crop early; Cultural
management practices include removal of debris from the field and volunteer plants
in the vicinity, intercropping with cereals (pearl millet, sorghum, maize, etc.), deep
ploughing and crop rotation, particularly for leaf spots to reduce inoculum in the soil.

Soil-borne diseases: Difficult to control once they appear; But maintaining soil health
is very important for good agriculture.

Collar rot: Caused by A. niger, symptoms include pre-emergence rotting of seeds,

rotting of cotyledons, rotting in the collar region, rotting regions covered with black
conidia of the fungus, post emergence seedling blight with dark brown and shredded
collar region and occasional wilting of plants at later stage; Sometimes mature plants
also attacked - lesions develop on the stem below soil and they spread upwards, dead
and dried branches easily detach from the disintegrating collar region.

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Fig 13. Crown rot or collar rot.

White mold/stem rot: Caused by Sclerotium rolfsii is widely distributed in most of the

groundnut-growing countries; First symptoms - yellowing and wilting of a lateral

branch or, if the main stem is attacked, the whole plant; Leaves on affected branches
become chlorotic and then turn brown as they rapidly dry out; Sheaths of white
mycelium of the fungus seen around affected plants at or near the soil surface
imparting a white-washed appearance to the base of the affected plants.

Fig 14. Advanced symptoms of white mold/stem rot.

Management: Management practices include growing tolerant cultivars, seed

treatment with thiram or captan or mancozeb @ 3 g/kg of seed or carbendazim @ 2
g/kg of seed or tebuconazole (Raxil 2% DS) @ 1.25 g/kg seed or Trichoderma viride
or Pseudomonas flurescens @ 10 g/kg seed, soil application of T. viride or T.
harzianum @ 2.5 kg/ha in conjunction with neem or castor cake @ 300-500 kg/ha,
crop sanitation, crop rotation with wheat or gram and avoiding injury to seedlings
during intercultivation.
Aflatoxin contamination: Aflatoxins are secondary metabolites produced in groundnut
seeds by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus and are carcinogenic to human beings,

poultry and livestock; These fungi (soil and air borne) get access to seeds through
microscopic cracks in pod wall and seed coat, mechanical injury to pods during inter
cultural operations and harvesting and insect and nematode damage to pods; In
international trade, very strict upper limits set for aflatoxins - 2 g/kg of seed for
aflatoxin B 1 by European Union; In Asia, A. flavus infection is more prevalent; Fungus
infection can occur in the field when the pods and seeds are developing (preharvest
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infection), during drying and curing after harvest and in storage (postharvest
infection); Moisture stress at pod and seed development stage predisposes them for
A. flavus infection in the field; Rainfed groundnut is more vulnerable to fungal infection
in the field; Postharvest infection is serious under wet and humid conditions.

Fig 15. Groundnut kernels naturally infected with A. flavus.

Fig 16. Groundnut kernels artificially inoculated with A. flavus.

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Management: In addition to the above mentioned management practices for soil-

borne diseases, the following additional measures should be adopted to contain the
aflatoxin contamination in groundnut.

Application of FYM/compost @ 5-10 t/ha

Application of gypsum @ 400-500 kg/ha at flowering
Provide light but frequent irrigation, if available, during pod and seed development
stages
Avoid mechanical damage to the pods during weeding, harvesting and curing,
threshing and storage
Harvest the crop as soon as it matures (in case of severe drought, the crop should
be harvested early)
Dry pods to lower moisture content below 8%
Do not mix gleanings (pods left into soil at the time of harvesting) with main
produce
Remove damaged and under developed pods from the produce
Store groundnut in-shell and at low temperature, low humidity and in moisturefree conditions and protect it from the damage by storage insect pests
Remove immature pods from the haulm before feeding them to animals

Virus diseases: Field identification of virus diseases based on symptoms alone often
difficult and misleading; Important to confirm the identity of a disease after serological
and other laboratory tests.

PBND: Primary symptoms - appearance of faint chlorotic spots or mottling on young

leaflets that may develop into chlorotic and necrotic rings and streaks, occasionally,
the leaflets may show a general chlorosis with green islands, necrosis of the terminal
soon follows; In very young plants, total necrosis of the plants can happen; Necrosis
on older plants usually spreads only to the petiole or to the portion of the stem
immediately below the terminal bud; Secondary symptoms - stunting and proliferation
of axillary shoots, leaflets on these axillary shoots show a wide range of symptoms
including reduction in size, distortion of the lamina, mosaic mottling, and general
chlorosis.

Fig 17. Terminal necrosis caused by peanut bud necrosis virus.

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Fig 18. A groundnut plant with advanced symptoms of peanut bud necrosis disease.

TSWV: Wide array of symptoms include concentric ring spots on leaflets, various

patterns of chlorosis on leaflets, stunting of all above ground parts of the plant, small
or misshapen geocarpophores, pods and kernels, and reddish discoloration and
cracking of seed coats; Roots of the affected plants typically show varying degree of
necrosis that can result in the death of the plants; General yellowing and wilting of
the plants without typical above ground symptoms.

Fig 19. TSWV symptoms concentric ring spots - on a groundnut leaf.

PStV: Characteristics symptoms - dark green stripes and discontinuous banding along
the lateral veins of young leaves and an okra leaf or blotched pattern of dark green
on older leaves with infected plants showing stunting; Eight strains of PStV reported,
which cause different symptoms; Yield losses vary with strain type and can reach as
high as 55%.

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Fig 20. Stripe and blotch symptoms caused by different strains of PStV.

Fig 21.Oak leaf symptoms occasionally caused by PStV.

PSND: Caused by tobaco streak ilavirus; Symptoms - first appear on young leaves as

necrotic lesions and veinal necrosis, later necrosis spreads to petiole and stem;
Necrotic lesions on the stem later spread upward killing the buds; Majority of the
plants infected within a month after sowing die due to necrosis, which also spreads
downwards in case of early infection; In some cultivars, surviving plants produce
axillary shoots with small leaves with general chlorosis.

Fig 22. PSND-necrosis of terminal leaflets and stem.

Fig23. PSND-infected groundnut pods.

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Management: Management options - growing field tolerant varieties (for PBND, TSWV

and PSND; no tolerance available for PStV), field sanitation and cultural management
(removal of volunteer plants in the off-season, timely sowing (sowing dates should be
adjusted to avoid migration peak of the vector at the location), careful removal and
destruction of infected seedlings, optimum plant population, effective control of
vectors and intercropping and border cropping with fast growing tall cereal crops,
removal of alternate weed hosts of the virus (particularly Parthenium in and around
groundnut fields in case of PSND) and the vector during off-season); Seed treatment
with imidacloprid offers protection against sucking pests up to 30 days and helps to
reduce disease incidence in early stages of the crop; Intercropping and border
cropping act as barrier to the vector.

PCV: Wide spread in West Africa, also found in Indian subcontinent (known as ICPV)

in isolated patches particularly in sandy and sandy loam soils; Disease is soil borne
and transmitted by soil inhabiting fungus Polymixa graminis; Virus is seed borne (650%); Diseased plants severely stunted, dark green and bushy with young leaves
showing mosaic mottling with chlorotic rings; Infected plants produce flowers but a
few poorly developed pods.

Fig 24. Leaf symptoms caused by IPCV.

Fig 25. An IPCV infected field.

Management: Available cultural management options to minimize the disease in the

long run - use of disease free seed, growing of trap crop (pearl millet and other
cereals), early sowing before the onset of monsoon, soil solarisation and continuous
rotation of dicotyledonous crops.

GRD: Two symptom variants in GRD chlorotic rosette and green rosette; Both forms

of the disease cause severe stunting with shortened internodes and reduced leaf size
giving the plants a bushy appearance; In chlorotic rosette, leaves are usually bright
yellow with a few green islands and curved lamina; In green rosette, leaves appear
dark green with light green to dark mosaic; GRD is present in small proportion every
growing season but it is more severe in late planted crop causing 5-30% yield losses;
Epidemics cause significant yield losses reaching up to 100% in larger areas,
sometimes even affecting the seed availability for the next season crop.

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Fig 26. Chlorotic rosette symptoms.

Fig 27. Green rosette symptoms.

Management: Management options - Use of resistant cultivars (the best option,

several are released in Africa), removal of off-season volunteer groundnut plants that
serve as inoculum source for the main season crop, timely/early planting and ensuring
optimum plant population, seed treatment with imidacloprid and control of aphid
vector with systemic insecticide; Long acquisition access feeding period required by
the vector provides an opportunity to control aphids before they can spread the
disease.
For further refining management strategies, the research on the following aspects
should be intensified: identification of alternate host(s) of the components of the virus
complex for off-season survival, genetic diversification of resistance and combining
resistance to GRAV, GRV and vector in a single cultivar.

Bacterial wilt disease (BW): A soil borne disease, caused by Ralstonia solanacearum

in groundnut, mostly confined to East and Southeast Asia but also reported from
Uganda and South Africa in Africa; Disease spread by infested soil and water and
infected seed; Bacterium has five races, only race 1 (biovar 3 and 4) infect groundnut;
First sign of BW - slight drooping or curling of one or more leaves; In advanced stages,
the plants may bend at the tip appear dry and eventually turn brown, wither and die;
Roots and pods discolored and rotten; Diagnostic characteristics - dark brown
discoloration in xylem
and pith and streaming
of bacterial ooze when
roots placed in water; In
heavily infested fields,
disease incidence could
reach over 50%, in
some cases, a total crop
failure can also happen.

Fig 28. A wilted groundnut

plant due to bacterial wilt
disease.

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Fig 29. A bacterial wilt infected groundnut field.

Management: Management options - growing resistant varieties (many are available),

crop rotation with non-host crops (rice in lowlands and sweet potato, jute, maize,
sugarcane, soybean, blackgram, and mungbean, etc.) and flooding the field; Good
field drainage and field sanitation also help in reducing the disease.

Nematode diseases: Symptoms of root knot disease caused by Meloidogyne arenaria

and M. hapla - stunted plant growth and chlorotic leaves, poor root system with dense

bushy appearance and knots and warts (galls) on pods; Symptoms of root lesion
disease caused by Pratylenchus brachyurus - stunted plant growth with poor and
discolored root growth, tan to brown colored pin-point areas on the pod surface with
older lesions giving a blotchy appearance and indistinct margins; Symptoms of
Kalahasti malady caused by Tylenchorhynchus brevilineatus in India - stunted plant
growth with foliage greener than normal, small brownish yellow lesions on pegs and
developing pods with lesion margins slightly elevated and complete discoloration of
pods in advanced stage.

Fig 30. Pods infested with T. brevilineatus.

Fig 31. Galls on roots and pods,

caused by M. arenaria.

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Management: Management options - growing resistant varieties (most effective and

practical), crop rotation with non-host crops or trap crops.

Major field insect pests: Major sucking pests - thrips, jassids and aphids; Major

defoliators - leaf miner, tobacco caterpillar, gram pod borer and hairy caterpillars;
Major soil insect pests - white grubs, termites, earwig and jewel beetle.

Thrips: Small insects, present any time of the year, live in flowers and folded leaves
and have wide host range; Nymphs pass through four instars before becoming adults;
Damage symptoms -white patches on the upper and necrotic patches on the lower
surface of the leaves which distort their shape particularly in seedlings.

Fig 32. Leaflets scarified by thrips.

Fig 33. An adult thrips.

Jassids: Both nymphs and adults suck sap from lower surface of young leaves;

Damage symptoms - whitening of the veins and appearance of chlorotic (yellow)

patches at the tips of leaflets with typical V appearance.

Fig 34. Jassid damage

(V shape hopper burn on leaflet tips).

Fig 35. An adult jassid.

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Aphids: Dark brown nymphs develop into shiny black adults which congregate on

young leaves, leaf buds, flowers and aerial pegs and desap through phloem vessels;
Plant becomes chlorotic and leaves curl; They secrete a sticky fluid on the plant which
is turned black by fungus.

Leaf miner: Young larvae mine into the leaves as soon as they hatch, presence of

small brown blotches on the leaf can be seen; Mines are about 1mm long and enlarge
as the larvae grow inside them; Larvae complete different instars, emerge out and
web the adjacent leaflets together, and continuously feed on leaf tissue from inside
the webbed leaves; Severely attacked fields give burnt appearance from a distance.

Fig 36. An adult leaf miner.

Fig 37. Brown blotches (mines) on

leaflets indicating infestation.

Tobacco caterpillar: Adults lay eggs on the leaves in clusters; First instars feed by

scrapping under the surface of the leaves leaving the vein and upper epidermis giving
a fabric surface; Young larvae are light green but later instars are dark green to brown
on their backs, lighter underneath and have prominent black spots on the thorax;
They defoliate totally leaving only the stems; 2nd & 3rd instars larvae feed by making
small holes on the leaf; Subsequent instars feed voraciously on entire lamina, petioles
and on the tender twigs, sometimes they feed on the flower and bore the tender
groundnut pods; Pupation takes place in soil; Older larvae are night feeders.

Fig 38. Tobacco caterpillar.

Fig 39. An adult moth of tobacco caterpillar.

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Gram pod borer: A polyphagous pest, adults lay eggs singly on tender plant parts;

Larvae - dark greenish yellow/brown with variation in color; Unlike tobacco caterpillar,
they do not have black spots on thorax; Damage to foliage similar to tobacco and
hairy caterpillar, larvae prefer to feed on the flowers and buds; They do not hide in
the soil during the day.

Fig 40.Gram pod borer larvae.

Fig 41. Gram pod borer moth.

Hairy caterpillars (Amsacta albistriga, A. moori and Spilosoma obliqua): Hairy

caterpillars devastating but highly sporadic; Larvae - initially light brown but turn
reddish when they grow, their hairs make them conspicuous and they often migrate
from field to field in search of food; Young larvae feed gregariously on the under
surface of the leaves by scrapping them; Grown up larvae are voracious feeders, feed
on leaves, flowers and growing points and defoliate the crop presenting a cattle grazed
field; Young larvae of S. obliqua scrap leaves, some leaves become papery thin and
dry, grown up larvae devour the foliage completely.

Fig 42. Red hairy caterpillar larvae.

Fig 43. Red hairy caterpillar moth.

White grubs (Lachnosterna consanguinea, L. serrate): Pupation takes place in the soil

and the larvae remain there until the next year, adult beetles emerge with first
monsoon showers; Damage to roots starts in the early first instar and maximum
damage occurs during third instar larvae; Plants show varying degrees of wilting, and
ultimately die; Damaged plants can be easily pulled out; Grubs also damage the pod
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by scratching the nut shell and roots show a sharp cut; Patches of dead plants seen
throughout the field, which later coalesce and produce intensive areas of damage.

Fig 44. White grub adults.

Fig 45. White grub larvae.

Termites (Microtermes spp., Odontotermes spp.): Termites gnaw and hollow out

taproot causing wilting and premature death of plants especially in sandy and red
soils; They also feed on pod shell by removing the corky material between the strands
of vascular tissues, which is called scarification.

Fig 46. Hollowing out damage of tap root by termites.

Fig 47. Termites.

Fig 48. Termite scarification on pods.

Earwig (Demaptera stali): Both nymphs and adults bore into the tender and matured

pods and feed on kernels; Bored holes are mostly plugged inside with sand particles,
excreta and decayed pulp; Infested pods either empty or with partly fed kernels and
rarely with sand and faecal materials.

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Fig 49. Earwig with eggs.

Fig 50. Pod damage by earwig.

Management: Integrated pest management should be followed; Chemical control

measures should be need based, guided by economic threshold levels and used as a
last resort.
For control of sucking insect pests - grow resistant varieties, treat seeds with
imidacloprid (Gaucho 70 WS) @ 2 ml/kg seed, spray dimethoate @ 200-250 mL a.i./ha
when the crop is young and all terminal buds are infested with aphids or more than
five thrips per terminal (folded) leaf are observed up to 30 days after emergence (DAE)
or more than 10% of all leaves have characteristic hopper burn up to 30 DAE.
For control of defoliators, the following steps should be taken.
Leaf miner - Spray dimethoate @ 200-250 mL a.i. or monocrotophos @ 150-200 mL
a.i. per ha if 5 or more active larvae per plant up to 30 DAE, 10 larvae per plant up to
50 DAE or 15 larvae up to 75 DAE or later, install pheromone traps @ 25 traps/ha,
setup light traps for destroying the moths; Economic threshold studies indicated that
chemical control should be adopted when the larval population reaches 61-70 per 100
leaflets.
Tobacco and hairy caterpillars and gram pod borer - For bird predators provide perches
(bird perches @ 10-15/ha) in the field; Plant sunflower and castor bean trap crops on
borders and in the groundnut field (1 plant per 20 m2) and destroy egg masses on
trap crops and groundnut plants manually; Tobacco caterpillar and gram pod borer
nocturnal in habit and hence control measures to be taken up either in the early
morning hours or in the late evening hours; Apply NPV @ 250 LE/ha, obtained from a
reliable source and neem seed kernel extract @ extract obtained from 10 kg neem
fruit powder ha-1; Spray endosulfan @ 350 mL a.i. or monocrotophos @ 300 mL a.i.
or fenvalerate @ 100 mL a.i. or indoxacarb @ 70 mL a.i. or spinosad @ 45 mL a.i. per
ha if defoliation exceeds 25% during the first 50 days or one or more larva per plant
is observed or pheromone trap (10 traps/ha for tobacco caterpillar and gram pod
borer) catches exceed 100 moths per night averaged over a week or 1-2 tobacco
caterpillar egg masses per meter of crop row (7-12 plants).
For red hairy caterpillars, digging 15-20 cm deep trench all around the field and placing
Ipomea or some other plant twigs in them can restrict the migrating caterpillars in the
trench where they could be destroyed manually or by spraying fenvalerate @ 1mL/L
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water; Alternately, a short barricade of polythene fence (10 cm high) across the
migrating route can prevent their entry in the field and they can be collected manually
and destroyed.
Management of soil insect pests - as prophylactic measures apply carbofuran 3G
granules in the furrow @ 1 kg a.i./ha and treat seeds with chlorpyriphos 20 EC @ 12.5
mL/kg seed for protection against white grubs in the initial stages; Spray feeding trees
of adult white grubs with carbaryl 50 WP @ 2 g/L of water 3-4 times until mid-July
ideally using community approach; Destroying the termite mounds in the vicinity of
field, removal of plant residues and debris from field and timely harvest can help to
minimize the termite damage.

Major storage insect pests:

Groundnut bruchid (Caryedon serratus): Both pods and kernels are damaged; Eggs
laid on the pods and kernels; Young larvae cut through shell and burrow into the
kernel and feed; Cocoon is papery white and tough; Pupation takes place on the pods
or kernels.

Fig 51. Eggs of groundnut bruchid.

Fig 52. Adult groundnut bruchids.

Red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum) and Rice moth (Corcyra cephalonica): These

are considered secondary pests as they are not able to infest intact pods; However,
with a lot of mechanical damage caused to pods due to poor intercultivation and
harvesting and curing practices, their damage in storage is quite common; Signs of
damage - webbing in the case of rice moth and powdery remnants without webbing
in the case of red flour beetle; Red flour beetles are oblong in shape and brown in
color; Rice moth has grayish brown forewings.

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Fig 53. An adult red flower beetle.

Fig 54. An adult rice moth.

Fig 55. Powdery remnants resulting from red kernel flour beetle damage to kernels.

Fig 56. Webbing resulting from damage by rice moth.

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Management: Development of storage insect pests can be arrested if seed moisture

content is kept low (not more than 5%); Storage sanitary measures include spray of
malathion 1.25% or deltamethrin 0.04% on the walls, floor and roof of the warehouses
or godowns before storage; Fumigation with celphos (aluminium phosphide) 3 g tablet
per sack of groundnut (40 g) and covering the sacks with a polythene sheet for five
days can effectively control storage pests.
b. Abiotic constraints

Drought: All rain water conservation practices should be followed and harvested water

should be used to give life-saving irrigation and irrigation at critical stages (podding
and seed development) of plant life cycle.

Salinity: Saline/sodic fields should be reclaimed by leaching salts with excess water

(sprinkling or flooding) and adequate drainage; Soil amendment (gypsum) should also
be added to the soil; Salt tolerant varieties and crops should be grown; Some of the
crops with varying degree of salt tolerant are maize, sorghum, wheat, alfalfa, crested
and tall wheatgrass and sorghum-sudan hybrids.

Low pH: Maintaining soil pH essential as it affects the availability of nutrients to plants;

In case the pH is <5, lime in appropriate form and quantity should be mixed thoroughly
into the soil before land preparation or at the time of land preparation so as to bring
it in the optimal range; Rate of application of lime depends up on the type of lime, soil
type and depth of application; As a general recommendation, it would require 1.5 t/ha
of lime (Ca Co 3 ) to raise soil pH from 5.0 to 6.5.

Nutrient deficiencies and their management: Most micronutrients more likely to be

deficient at high pH, particularly in calcareous soils; Most soils in India are deficient in
micronutrients Zn, B and S; If soil test shows deficiency of these micronutrients, the
remedial measures should be taken as follows:

Boron (B): B, an essential micronutrient, necessary for proper flowering and podding;
B deficiency causes less intense flowering, prolongs flowering period and affects seed
development resulting in a discolored cavity (hollow heart) on the inner face of the
cotyledons; Severe B deficiency causes leaf to turn deep green, terminal leaves to
become small and deformed, reduced internodal length and production of secondary
branches making the plant appear stumpy and
short; Application of borax to the soil at the time of
land preparation at a rate of 3-4 kg/ha usually
overcomes the symptoms with a good residual
effect that lasts for several seasons; Deficiency can
also be corrected by spraying 0.1% borax early in
the season to assure uptake before flowering; Over
application of B can cause toxicity in plants.
Fig 57. Discolored cavities in groundnut seed due to B-deficiency.

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Zinc (Zn): Zn deficiency, observed when the crop grown in high pH soils, is wide
spread in sandy and sandy-loam soils in India;
Zn-deficiency causes stunted plant growth with
reduced internodal length, new leaves develop
slowly and terminal leaflets are small, thickened
and dark green in color; Basal application of 1020 kg/ha zinc sulphate once in three years to the
soil where groundnut is grown continuously can
rectify the deficiency.
Fig 58. Zn-deficiency symptoms in groundnut.

S: Deficiency of sulphur, common in sandy

soils, affects terminal growth, restricts root
growth and new leaves become pale green or
yellow; Application of gypsum provides
adequate sulphur to the crop.
Fig 59. Sulphur-deficiency symptoms in groundnut.

Iron (Fe): Fe deficiency serious problem in calcareous soils; Plants suffering from Fedeficiency show interveinal chlorosis (starting in
the youngest leaves) followed by chlorosis of the
entire leaf (whitish-yellow) and brown spots
leading to marginal chlorosis, slows down plant
growth and results in poor nodulation; Can be
alleviated by applying 10 kg/ha ferrous sulphate
to the soil or spraying the affected crop with
0.5% ferrous sulphate + 0.2% urea, if required,
the spray can be repeated at 10-14 days
interval.
Fig 60. Fe-deficiency symptoms in groundnut.

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Manganese (Mn): Deficiency occurs on soils inherently low in this nutrient, especially
if they have been over limed; Deficiency causes
interveinal chlorosis with symptoms ranging from mild
(light green leaves with the regions immediately
adjacent to the veins and the veins themselves
remaining green) to severe (entire interveinal area
chlorotic); Foliar Mn application can correct Mn
deficiency more rapidly than soil Mn application.
Fig 61. Mn deficiency symptoms in groundnut.

13. Cultural practices

Selection of field and land preparation: Groundnut after groundnut in the same field
not advisable due to build-up of diseases and insect pests in the soil; Groundnut should
be rotated with a well-fertilized cereal crop; A proper crop rotation can result in higher
yields and in substantial savings in disease control and fertilizer requirements; Ideal
groundnut soil - well drained, light colored, with either sand, loamy sand or sandy
loam texture and pH ranging between 6.0 and 6.3.
Field should be cleared off all stubbles and plant residues of the previous crop (undecomposed plant residues promote growth of disease causing soil borne fungi); Land
preparation - plow to a depth of 15-20 cm (very deep plowing should be avoided) and
give several passes of harrow to obtain a fine tilth; Conservation tillage (no-tillage,
minimum tillage, reduced tillage and strip tillage) does not consistently produce yields
equal to the conventional tillage; Very deep ploughing encourages pod formation in
deeper layers of soil rendering harvest more difficult; Groundnut can be sown on flat
bed or ridges or raised beds separated by furrows; Sowing on raised beds with 0.40.8% slope allows easy drainage of excess water, avoids compaction of seed beds and
facilitates field operations as all movements are restricted to furrows; Width of the
raised bed varies depending up on soil type, irrigation system in use (in case of
irrigated crop) and available equipment for land preparation and bed formation.
Manure and macro-nutrient requirement: Groundnut responds to residual soil fertility
better than the direct application of fertilizers; Crop(s) preceding groundnut should be
well fertilized to build up soil fertility particularly for P and K.
Basics of the fertilization strategy are the following.

Soil test: Soils from fields to be sown with groundnut must be analysed for determining

the status of macronutrients and micronutrients; Soil samples should be collected from
several places in the field at plow depth; Samples should be bulked and mixed
thoroughly to draw a representative sample of the field for analysis.

Build soil phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) to medium or high level: Groundnut

responds to residual soil fertility better than the direct application of fertilizers; Building
soil P and K levels to at least the medium range should assure adequate P and K
nutrition; If P and K fertilizers are needed, they should be turned deep before sowing
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to keep them out of the pegging zone where they can interfere with calcium uptake;
Better to fertilize the preceding crop well to build up residual fertility for the following
groundnut crop.

Provide calcium (Ca) to pegging zone: Ca, essential for pod and seed development, is
most commonly deficient for groundnut in non-calcareous soils; Having adequate
quantities of Ca present in the top 8 cm -10 cm of soil, available for direct absorption
by developing pegs and pods, is an absolute must for producing high quality groundnut
yields; Adequate Ca supply to the pods also helps to reduce infection by Aspergillus
flavus and other pod rot causing fungi.

Nutrient requirement for high yields: The amounts of nutrients removed from the field
by groundnut pods and vines are presented in Table 10.

Table 10. Estimated nutrients required to produce selected pod yields of groundnut.
Quantity (kg/ha)$
K
Ca
Mg
S

Pod yield
N
P
Fe
Mn
Zn
B
(t/ha)
1
58
5
18
11
9
4
2
0.09
0.08
0.05
2
117 10
36
23
18
9
4
0.19
0.16
0.11
3
174 15
54
34
27
13
6
0.29
0.24
0.16
4
232 20
73
45
36
18
8
0.38
0.32
0.22
5
290 25
91
56
45
22 10 0.48
0.41
0.27
6
348 30 109
68
54
26 12 0.58
0.49
0.33
7
406 35 126
77
63
30 14 0.68
0.56
0.38
8
464 40 144
88
72
34 16 0.78
0.64
0.44
9
522 45 162
99
81
38 18 0.88
0.72
0.49
10
580 50 180 110
90
42 20 0.98
0.80
0.54
$= Calculation based on Sahrawat, K.L., Srinivas Rao, B. and Nambiar, P.T.C. 1988. Plant
and Soil 109:291-293.

Nitrogen (N): Under most conditions enough N fixed through symbiotic relations with
the native Bradyrhizobium spp. to avoid deficiency throughout the plants life cycle;
However, under certain conditions, N deficiency can occur - poor and eroded soils,
lack of or inefficient Bradyrhizobium in the soil, drought and high temperatures; In
many countries, N is applied to the crop and the rate ranges between 10-30 kg/ha N;
In areas of high intensity rains, split application of N beneficial in light soils; In some
studies, foliar application of N at the time of podding also resulted in increased yield;
However, N application not recommended in the USA.
Phosphorus (P): On a global scale, P may be the most deficient element for groundnut;

In general, P deficiency easily corrected by application of P fertilizers since the crop is

grown in sandy soils with low amounts of clays, in such soils P fixation is not a problem;
But in calcareous sandy soils, P fixation can lead to P deficiency in spite of P
fertilization; Soil P levels required for groundnut are often lower than those required
for other crops.

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Potassium (K): K needed by groundnut from early stage of its growth to maturity;

Considerable amount of K is taken by the crop but most of the Indian soils are rich in
K; Groundnut does not respond to K fertilization unless soil available K is very low;
Mutual antagonistic effect on the uptake of K, Ca, and Mg; Ratio of K:Ca:Mg more
important than the total amount of any one of them; A high concentration of K in the
pod zone is harmful because it affects pod quality, especially at low levels of Ca;
Suggested ratios in the literature are 4:4:2 and 4:2:0; Latter was reported from studies
on sandy loam soils under rainfed and irrigated conditions in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh,
India.

Calcium (Ca): 30-day period following pegging most critical for Ca supply; If soil pH

adjustment is recommended by the soil test, lime may be used to provide both pH
adjustment and Ca to the pegging zone; However, lime must be applied and
incorporated to a shallow depth immediately after deep plowing to allow enough time
for Ca in lime to dissolve and get into soil solution; Where lime is not needed, calcium
sulphate (gypsum or land plaster) should be applied when needed; Need for additional
Ca best determined by taking a pegging zone soil test; Regardless of soil test Ca
level, gypsum should be applied to all large-seeded groundnut and groundnut seed
crop; Peak flowering stage of the crop best time to apply gypsum to the soil; Gypsum
should not fall on the foliage as it may cause scorching of leaves; Gypsum application
should be followed by light inter cultivation or last hand weeding to ensure its
incorporation into the soil; Groundnut produced under Ca-deficient conditions exhibits
poorer germination than those produced with an adequate Ca supply; Lack of
sufficient soil moisture in the top 8-10 cm zone during the pod and seed developmental
period can result in Ca deficiency as the Ca is not replenished in the soil solution; It is
important to ensure sufficient moisture supply in the podding zone for the
development of well-filled pods.
Concentrations of other cations in the soil, particularly K and Mg, can affect Ca uptake
and thereby affect groundnut yield and quality; Optimum Ca/K ratio in the groundnut
pegging zone topsoil is about 10; Optimum Ca/Mg ratio for obtaining maximum
percentage of sound mature kernels is 24 to 28.
Application of fertilizers and their dose should be based on the nutrient status of the
soil as determined by the soil test and the targeted yield; Achieving very high yields
under rainfed conditions may not be feasible due to soil moisture limitations;

General recommendations for groundnut:

FYM or Compost:

10-12 t/ha, 25-30 days before sowing

Introducing green manuring in crop rotation also helps in increasing the organic matter
content of the soil and improving its structure. It also improves nodulation and
enhances the availability of P to the crop. Farmers in India also apply tank silt 15-25
t/ha once in three years mainly to increase water-holding capacity of the soil.

Macronutrients: N, P and K:

8-20 N, 16-80 P 2 O 5 , 0-75 K 2 O kg/ha as basal

application
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Ca: 200-400 kg/ha of gypsum at the peak flowering stage as side placement (Calcium
is essential for good seed development)

Seed and seed treatments: Certified seed purchased from a reliable source or own

saved seed which is pure (true to type), graded (medium-size), undamaged, fully
developed and healthy (free from discoloration and fungal infection) with germination
above 90% should be used; Germination test on seeds should be carried out one week
before sowing and the seed rate should be adjusted accordingly; Gap filling after 810 days of sowing does not help much.

Rhizobium inoculation: Rhizobium inoculation beneficial in newly cleared fields, rice

fallows, fields with eroded soils and low fertility; Seeds should be treated just before
sowing with Rhizobium culture, obtained from a reliable source, following instructions
of the manufacturer.

For soil borne diseases: Seeds should be treated with captan (1.5 g) + thiram (1.5 g),

carbendazim (2.0 g) or mancozeb (3.0 g) per kg of seed or other locally recommended

fungicide(s); Seed treatment with Trichoderma viride or T. harzianum @ 4-5 g/kg of
seed also helps in managing seed and soilborne diseases.

For insect pests: Imidacloprid 2 ml/kg of seed for sucking pests and chlorpyriphos 20
EC 12.5 ml kg/ seed for white grubs in endemic areas.

Seed treatment with fungicide/insecticide gives protection up to 30 days after sowing;

It should be carried out one or two days prior to sowing; Seeds should be treated first
with liquid chemicals and after drying with powder/dust chemicals; If the Rhizobium
strain is not compatible with fungicide/insecticide (Please see manufacturers
instructions), the culture can be applied in sowing rows following slurry method.

For breaking seed dormancy: Virginia varieties have postharvest seed dormancy,

which may last up to 5-6 months in some cases; If such varieties are to be sown
immediately after harvest, the postharvest seed dormancy must be broken; Seeds
should be thinly spread over a tarpaulin or plastic sheet and sprayed thoroughly 2-3
times with etherel (5 ml in 1 L water) and air dried just before sowing.

Pre-germination and seed priming: In North Vietnam, farmers sow pre-germinated

(with protruding radicle) seeds for the spring season crop; In spite of prevailing low
temperatures and cold winds at the time of sowing, this practice results in quicker
seedling emergence and a near perfect plant stand; Maturity is also hastened due to
early seedling emergence; However, it is essential to have a good tilth and enough
soil moisture or irrigation soon after sowing to support seedling growth; Seeds are
pre-germinated by soaking them for 4-6 h in luke warm water and then, storing them
in cloth bags overnight at a warm place in the house (near the oven in the kitchen);
Next morning, seeds have emerging radicle and are ready for sowing, non-germinating
seeds are discarded; Sprouted seeds are hand sown and covered with soil immediately
after sowing; Recently, seed priming is receiving attention in India and Vietnam; In
seed priming, seeds are soaked for 8 h in water and then dried to their original water
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content; A primed seed will germinate only if it takes up additional moisture from the
soil after sowing; Apart from swelling slightly and weighing more, primed seed can be
treated in the same way as non-primed seed.
Plant density, sowing depth and sowing methods: Optimum plant population varies
from country to country and from region to region within a country; Optimum row
spacing depends on the variety, nature of crop cultivation and machinery available for
sowing; However, the aim should be to obtain full ground cover as quickly as possible;
A wider row spacing leaving uncovered ground proliferates thrips/ aphids, which can
carry virus inoculum (peanut bud necrosis, peanut stem necrosis, peanut mottle and
peanut stripe diseases); Row spacing varies from as low as 20 cm to as high as 100
cm, and within row spacing from 7.5 cm to 15 cm in different countries; In most
countries in Asia, row spacing varies between 30 cm and 45 cm and within the row
spacing between 10 cm and 15 cm depending up on the growth habit of the variety;
In many countries, 2-3 seeds are dropped at each hill in manual sowing; If optimum
plant stand is assured with high germination of seed lot, this practice may not be
necessary as it increases the quantity of seed required for sowing; A closer spacing
for Spanish/Valencia (bunch) cultivars and a wider spacing for Virginia (semi-spreading
or spreading) cultivars are recommended; In India, paired row sowing in Gujarat and
cris-cross sowing in rice fallows have sown yield advantage over the conventional
pattern of sowing.

Sowing depth: Optimum sowing depth - 5 cm; Deeper sowing results in delayed
emergence, elongated hypocotyl, poor root and shoot development, poor nodulation
and decreased nitrogen fixation and consequently lower yields; In the case of shallow
sowing, the field should be frequently irrigated to avoid drying of germinating seeds
to ensure optimum germination and plant stand.

Optimum plant population: Optimum plant population in India - 330,000 plants/ha for
Spanish/Valencia cultivars and 148,000 for Virginia cultivars.

Seed rate: Seed rate depends up on seed weight, germination% and row to row and
seed to seed spacing; It may range from 100 to 160 kg/ha in India.

For sowing, use of seed drill (bullock-drawn or tractor-mounted) is recommended as

it results in faster sowing, quicker emergence and uniform plant stand; There should
be enough moisture in the soil before sowing to ensure quick and uniform germination;
In case of dry sowing, irrigation should be provided soon after, preferably with
sprinklers.
Intercropping/ Crop rotation: Intercropping/ mixed cropping is often practiced in
rainfed (semi-commercial) and subsistence agriculture as an assurance against crop
failures; Crops of differing duration grown simultaneously in a field in an appropriate
row arrangement can often produce more than the individual crop grown separately;
Besides better utilization of light, water, and nutrient resources, it also helps to
minimize disease and pest incidence; Because of their differing duration, if one crop
fails due to drought at critical stages, the other crop has a chance to survive and
contribute to the productivity of the system; Groundnut is intercropped generally with
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cereals such as maize, sorghum and pearl millet; Lately, groundnut and pigeonpea
(both legumes) intercropping has become popular in Gujarat in India as this cropping
system, besides adding to the stability and productivity of the system, also provides
pigeonpea stalks which are used as fuel; It is essential to grow suitable combination
of varieties of intercrops to derive the maximum benefit of the system; Similarly, the
management practices should be cropping system-based instead of sole crops.
When manuring and fertilization is done regularly and insect pests and diseases are
effectively controlled, continuous cropping of groundnut has not led to reduction in
yield; But good rotation of crops helps to maintain the soil fertility, improves organic
matter and physical structure of soil and reduces disease inoculum and insect pest
population in the soil; As groundnut responds well to residual fertility, it is desirable
to rotate it with other well fertilized crops particularly cereals; In Southeast Asia,
groundnut-rice rotation is very common; In North India, efforts are being made to
popularize groundnut cultivation in the spring/summer season after harvest of potato
to increase cropping intensity and productivity of the high input cropping system.
Intercultivation and Weed management: It is essential to keep groundnut fields weed
free up to 45 days after crop emergence; Even at later stages it is desirable not to
have weeds in the field as they interfere with harvesting and field inspection in case
of seed production; Application of pre-emergence herbicides such as pendimethalin @
1.0 -1.5 kg a.i./ha as spray or fluchloralin @ 1.0 -1.5 kg a.i./ha as pre-plant soil
incorporation followed by 1-2 hand weeding, as and when needed, effectively reduces
weed competition; Last hand weeding can be done along with gypsum application so
as to incorporate it in the soil; Once pegs enter soil, the plant should not be disturbed;
Interculture in a rainfed crop helps to reduce weeds and also encourages infiltration
of rainwater.
Many farmers practice earthing up (mounting soil around the plant) to allow pegs from
higher nodes to enter soil; This practice may promote growth of stem rot causing
fungus (Sclerotium rolfsii) and also deteriorate the quality of earlier set mature pods
while waiting for the later set pods to mature.
Water management: Although groundnut requires relatively less water, it cannot
tolerate moisture stress at flowering, pegging, pod and seed formation stages; Exact
water requirement for groundnut crop depends on the soil type and climatic conditions
of a given locality; Water requirement of groundnut in different types of soil varies
from 420 mm to 820 mm in India; Generally, 600-650 mm of water is sufficient;
Quality of irrigation water can affect groundnut productivity; Limits for saline water
for groundnut are EC (Electrical Conductivity) < 4.0 mmhos/cm and RSC (Residual
Sodium Carbonate) < 2 meq/L.

Rainfed crop: Proper arrangements for drainage should be made so that excess rain

water does not stagnate in the field as groundnut does not tolerate standing water in
the field; Standing water even for 4-6 hours in the field can damage the crop; Planting
on raised beds or ridges facilitates drainage; If supplementary irrigation is available,
it should be given at critical stages such as flowering, pegging and pod and seed
development; Besides increasing yield, the absence of moisture stress at the time of
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pod and seed development will also discourage pod and seed invasion by Aspergillus
flavus and subsequent aflatoxin production.

Irrigated crop: Except for crop grown on residual moisture, rabi/summer/spring

season crops are fully irrigated; A 2-3 week moisture stress soon after crop emergence
followed by regular irrigation, often helps in inducing profuse flowering and uniform
pod maturity; At pegging and pod and seed development stages, light but frequent
irrigation is required; Excessive irrigation at later stages of crop growth may promote
pod and seed diseases at maturity; Preferred method of irrigation is sprinkler
irrigation; Flood irrigation, often practiced in flat sowing in south Asia, is not a good
method of irrigation as it wastes water, results in over watering and trampling of plants
in the field by workers engaged in irrigation.
Use of growth regulators: Use of chemical growth regulators on groundnut to suppress
vegetative growth, achieve higher yield and improve pod quality have met with varying
degree of success; But their use in groundnut is very common in China and Vietnam.
The following are based on the recommendations in the Chinese literature.

Dinocap (DPC): It inhibits stem growth, enhances root development and branching

and increases pod yield by increasing pod number per plant; Early flowering stage is
the best time to apply 80 parts per million (ppm) DPC as foliar spray.

Paclobutrazol (P 333): If groundnut plants in highly fertile soils grow more vigorously

than expected, foliar application of P 333 at 60 ppm is recommended around 25-30

days after the first flowering; Its application reduces stem growth and increases pod
number per plant, pod and seed mass and pod yield.

Fosamine: Fosamine strongly inhibits the growth of aerial parts and flowering of

groundnut; Its effect lasts for longer duration; Foliar application of 500 ppm is
recommended at late pod forming stage to reduce late forming flowers; However,
seeds from fosamine-treated groundnut have poor germination and produce abnormal
seedlings; Therefore, they should not be used as seeds to grow the next crop.

2,3,6 trichlorobenzoic acid (TCBA): It inhibits growth of the aerial parts and late

ineffective flowers; It should be sprayed (250 ppm) at peak or late peak flowering
stage; Once the effect of the chemical wanes, the plant may grow more rapidly;
Response to TCBA application (increase in yield) varies with the genotypes; It gives
good results with large-seeded varieties of medium- and long-duration; Its effect on
Spanish varieties is very little.
P 333 is the more commonly used growth regulator; It has given positive response in
Vietnam also; In the USA, kylar 85 (1.2 kg/ha of powder formulation, 85% active
ingredient (a.i.) in 38 L of water) is recommended for arresting excessive vegetative
growth; It can also be applied in split doses; However, growth promoters are no
substitute for good crop husbandry; Their maximum positive response is realized only
when all other factors contributing to crop production are optimum.
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14. Seed production in India

Acts and regulations related to seeds in India: Acts/Regulations, which control all seed
related activities in India, are:

Indian Seed Act 1966 and Seed Rules 1968 with Seeds (Control) Order 1983: These

are legal instruments regulating production, distribution and quality of seeds for sale
and their related matters; Quality of seed is regulated through compulsory labelling
and/or voluntary certification.

Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act (PPV&FR Act): The act, which was passed in

2001, aims to provide for establishment of effective system for protection of plant
varieties and for the rights of the farmers and plant breeders, to stimulate investment
in research and development and facilitate growth of seed industry and to ensure
availability of high quality seeds and planting materials of improved varieties to
farmers; The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Authority (PPV&FR
Authority), India, operational since 2005, accepts applications for 57 notified crop
species.

Farmers Rights: Indias sui generis law recognises the farmer as a cultivator, as a

conservator of agricultural gene pool and as breeder of several successful varieties;

Under this act, a farmer can register and protect a variety bred/developed by him/her;
This act also allows farmers to save, use, sow, re-sow, exchange, share or sell his/her
farm produce including seed of a protected variety without branding it with its original
registered name; In case of spurious seed supplied by a breeder/seed company, the
farmer is entitled for compensation.

Breeders Rights: A breeder has complete rights of commercialization of his/her

registered variety either in person or anyone he/she designates; Infringement of
Breeders Rights is punishable with fines including jail term.
Varietal/seed replacement: Adoption rate of improved groundnut cultivars in most
developing countries remains low primarily because of non-availability of their seeds
in required quantities; Old cultivars, which have outlived their utility, continue to
dominate groundnut cultivation affecting groundnut productivity in many countries;
Normally, seed stock should be replaced by farmers every 3rd or 4th year to maintain
the quality and varietal integrity of the seed and its productivity, but it rarely happens.
Status of groundnut seed production: In general, groundnut seed production has failed
to attract participation of private seed sector due to its self-pollinating nature (absence
of hybrids), low seed multiplication ratio (1: 8-10), large seed mass/volume and quick
loss of seed viability; Most of the formal seed production remains under the domain
of public sector seed producing agencies, which often fail to meet their expected
obligations; A majority of the groundnut seed production occurs in informal seed
sector by well-off farmers often passing off the commercial produce after grading it
as seed; Local traders also indulge in groundnut seed trade by procuring local
commercial produce and selling it as seed in local markets after cleaning and grading
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the produce; This seed sold in the local markets is often a mixture of several cultivars;
A majority of the farmers use either self-saved seed or buy it from local traders.

Formal seed system: Formal seed production in groundnut is largely undertaken by

public sector seed agencies in India; Seed of only notified varieties is eligible for
certification; Farmers, who want to produce Foundation/Certified seed for these
agencies, must register with the State Seed Certification Agency; Parental seed should
be obtained from authorised sources only and the attached seed certification label
should be preserved till the seed crop is harvested; Prescribed standards for field
selection and other agronomic practices including monitoring should be followed.

Formal seed production chain: Nucleus seed (produced by institution/breeder who

developed the variety) Breeder seed Stage I (produced by institution/breeder who

developed the variety or authorised sponsored breeder) Breeder seed Stage II
(produced by institution/breeder who developed the variety or authorised sponsored
breeder) Foundation seed Stage I (Public/Private seed sector agencies or Dept. of
Agriculture) Foundation seed Stage II (Public/Private seed sector agencies or Dept.
of Agriculture) Certified seed.
Two stages of seed production of Breeder seed and Foundation seed allowed in India
due to low seed multiplication in groundnut; In some countries, in between Foundation
seed and Certified seed, Registered seed stage is also observed.

Color of labels used in tagging the bags: Breeder seed Golden Yellow, Foundation

seed White, Certifies seed Azure.

Fig 62. Different color labels used for tagging different classes of seed.

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Seed certification standard: Seed certification standards vary from country to country.

The standards prescribed for groundnut seed production in India are given in Table
11.

Table 11. Standards for production of different classes of seed in groundnut.

Factor/Requirements

I. Land requirement
No groundnut variety grown in the selected field
II. Field standards
Isolation distance required from the fields of other
groundnut varieties (m)
Isolation distance required from the fields of the same
variety not conforming to the varietal purity
requirements for certification (m)
Presence of off-types at final inspection (maximum) in
the field (%)
Minimum number of field inspections (anytime from
the initiation of flowering till maturity)
III. Seed standards
Pure seed (minimum) (%)
Inert matter (maximum) (%)
Other crop seeds (maximum)
Weed seeds (maximum)
Germination of the hand-shelled seeds (minimum) (%)
Moisture content in the hand-shelled seeds (maximum)
(%)
Moisture content under vapour proof containers for
hand-shelled seeds (maximum) (%)

Class of seed
Foundation
Certified

For the past For the past

two seasons two seasons
3

0.1

0.2

96
4
Nil
Nil
70
9

96
4
Nil
Nil
70
9

No prescribed standards for Breeder seed except that the Breeder seed should be so
pure as to guarantee that in the subsequent generation, i.e., certified Foundation seed
conform to the prescribed standards.

Postharvest tests: Postharvest tests conducted by the State Seed Certification Agency
on seed produced under seed certification program include examination of
morphological characters of the seed, color reaction to certain chemicals, properties
of seedlings and response of seedlings to controlled environment, growth stimulants
and stable plant characters to confirm varietal trueness; Other tests include field plot
tests or grow out test and DNA finger printing.

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Informal seed systems: Enterprising farmers and local traders produce/procure seed

of varieties released in public domain and sell it to the farming community as Truthful
seed; Selling of Truthful seed indicating quality parameters through their opal green
color label without certification is legally allowed in India; Seed laws regulate the
quality mentioned on the label; To enhance fast and wider diffusion of improved
cultivars and build seed sufficiency at local level, several schemes under informal seed
sector are in operation - village seed program, farmer-participatory seed production,
etc.; Local traders often procure seed through contract farming.
Whenever a new variety is released, obtain minimum 2 kg good quality
pods from any source to raise Stage I seed multiplication plot

Two kg pods obtained from true to type selected

plants every year from Stage III commercial plot

II

For marketing

III

1 ha
I

II =

III =

Stage I seed multiplication plot: 0.01 ha, 1% of 1 ha expected

area under new cultivar
Stage II seed multiplication plot: 0.10 ha, 10% of 1 ha
expected area under new cultivar (seed comes from Stage I)

Stage III commercial and seed multiplication plots: 0.89

ha for commercial produce (seed comes from Stage II)
and 0.11 ha for Stage I and Stage II seed multiplication

Fig 63. Schematic presentation of PKV method of seed production by farmers.

Management of seed crop: A seed production crop requires more care and attention
than that required by a commercial crop; In addition to standard cultural practices,
seed crop requires some special attention, some salient points are listed below.

Agronomy: Select a well-drained-field having sandy, loamy sand or sandy loam soil

which is free from soil-borne diseases and insect pests; Seed production should be
undertaken under assured growing conditions; Optimum soil pH (6.0-6.3) should be
maintained to ensure nutrient availability to the plants; Groundnut responds to
residual soil fertility better than direct fertilization; Seed production field should have
adequate levels of Ca to ensure proper seed development and high yield; Micronutrient
deficiencies of Mg, B, Zn and S should always be rectified without delay; Only one
seed per hill should be sown to facilitate roguing; Gap filling, if required, must be done
within 10 days after sowing; Groundnut does not tolerate standing water in the field;
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Sprinkler or drip irrigation methods should be preferred over flood or furrow methods
of irrigation.

Crop health and sanitation: Seed crop should be free from diseases and insect pests
damage; Appropriate steps should be taken to keep the crop healthy; Diseased plants
in the field, if any, should be rouged; Seed crop should be weed free till harvest as
weeds interfere with inspection and monitoring of the field and with harvest.

15. Harvesting, drying and curing and storage

Several biochemical (Optical density of oil, Arginine maturity index, Methanol extract
and maturity protein marker) and physical (Kernel density, Internal pericarp color,
Seed hull maturity index and Hull scrap) methods to estimate maturity in groundnut
available; Easiest and most practical method of assessing optimum time of harvesting
is by evaluating internal pericarp color of the pods collected from a few representative
plants in the field; If more than 75-80% pods in case of Spanish/Valencia cultivars
and 70-75% pods in case of Virginia cultivars show internal pericarp darkening, the
crop is ready for harvest; If sprouting of seeds is observed in Spanish/Valencia
cultivars (due to rains at harvest time in cultivars lacking fresh seed dormancy), the
crop should be harvested as soon as the conditions permit without waiting 75-80%
pods to mature; In the case of end-of-season drought or under severe disease
pressure, sometimes, forced premature harvesting may be required to salvage the
crop; However, premature/forced harvesting may result in low shelling turnout which
may disqualify the produce for seed certification; Over maturity or delay in harvesting
can result greater pod loss in the soil and deterioration in pod quality.
Although commercial groundnut combines are available, the crop in Asia is harvested
generally by uprooting the plants manually; In some cases, animal drawn digger,
which cuts the roots of the plants below the podding zone, is also used and is followed
by manual lifting of the plants.
Proper drying (removal of moisture from the produce to a point at which the moisture
content of the produce comes into equilibrium with the moisture of the surrounding
air) and curing (the total process of moisture removal and flavor and texture
development in bringing the produce into storable condition) of the harvested produce
ensure good quality of the produce; Harvested plants are kept inverted with pods
facing upwards in windrows for about 2-3 days in the field for initial curing of plants
and pods under ambient temperatures; If day temperatures are high, the plants
should be dried in circular heaps avoiding direct exposure of pods to the sun; Exposure
to high temperatures adversely affects the seed quality and germination; Groundnut
pods at harvest contain moisture ranging between 35-60%; Plants should be dried till
the moisture content in pods is brought down to 18-20% for mechanical threshing
and 15% for hand threshing; Pods should be further dried, preferably under shade,
to <10%; Groundnut stores better in pods than in seeds; It is important to remove all
damaged, discolored, rotted, immature and sprouted pods, other plant materials and
soil from the produce before storage; Only sound, mature, clean and well filled pods
from true to type plants should be selected for seed purpose; Well-dried pods with
about 5% moisture content should be stored to avoid fungal and insect pests attack
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in storage; Pods should be stored in polythene-lined gunny bags or in some other safe
storage structure in a well-ventilated and rodent free room which is not in general use
and out of bound for children; Bags should be placed on wooden planks (not more
than five in a stack) and away from walls to avoid damage from dampness and should
be protected from damage by storage pests by dusting the bags with 5% lindane or
5% malathion dust; In case of pest outbreak in storage, seed bags after covering with
polythene sheet should be fumigated with celphos (tablets) @ 3 g/bag (40 kg bag);
Fumigator should use protective clothing, hand gloves, nose mask and goggles; Fresh
air should be allowed in for some time by keeping windows and door open before
entering the store 4-5 days after fumigation; Storage temperature should be low,
temperatures below 13 0C inactivate most insects and arrest growth and influence of
other quality deteriorating factors; Seed quality can be maintained for at least a year
at temperatures ranging from 1 to 5 0C and moisture content of 7% or lower; Relative
humidity in storage should be between 65-70%; Under unfavorable conditions,
groundnut seeds lose viability quickly. High moisture in groundnut seeds causes more
deterioration than any other single factor.

Fig 64. Harvested plants in circular heaps for field drying.

Fig 65. Tagged and stored seed-pods in gunny bags.

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16. Groundnut cultivation under polythene mulch

(The following information is adapted from literature published by the Chinese

scientists.)
Introduced from Japan in 1978, polythene mulch revolutionized groundnut cultivation
in China by increasing its yield by 20-50%; It now covers more than 20% of the
groundnut area in the country; With adoption of new high yielding varieties and
improved production technology with polythene mulch, the average groundnut
productivity in China increased from 1.21 t/ ha in the 1970s to 2.9 t/ ha in 2000s; Now
becoming popular in southeast Asian countries, particularly in Vietnam.
Advantages
Suitable for both cold and semi-tropical regions in all kinds of soils and in all
seasons, thus extending the crop cultivation into non-traditional areas
Increases pod yield, proportion of well-filled pods and oil and protein contents and
oleic to linoleic fatty acid ratio in seeds
Crop can be sown under lower temperatures (mean soil temperature over five days
in the top 5 cm soil 12.50C and above)
Results in early maturity giving opportunity to increase cropping intensity
Requires fewer irrigations and suffers less insect pest damage as compared with
non-mulched crop
Provides better weed control with pre-emergence herbicide application
Disadvantages
Labor intensive and requires high initial investment; may not be suitable under
rainfed conditions due to risks of crop failure involved
Full retrieval of polythene film at harvest is difficult - film sticking to haulms leaves
them unfit for fodder use and that left in the soil may cause environmental pollution
(now biodegradable films are available in China but their economics needs to be
worked out)
Viability of seeds produced under polythene mulch is lower than that of produced
without mulch
Factors that result in high yield under polythene mulch

Soil temperature: Because of above 80% sunlight transmittance, transparent

polythene film raises soil temperature due to heat entrapment; Increased accumulated
temperature shortens crop duration and increases pod yield; On the other hand,
during the hot season, polythene film protects soil from direct sunlight, and its
impermeability to hot air ensures optimum temperature for the middle growth phase
of groundnut.

Soil moisture: Polythene mulch prevents soil evaporation, which accounts for 25-50%

of the total quantity of water used in crop production; During heavy rains, polythene
film retards soil erosion and rapid infiltration of rainwater into the soil; Optimum soil
moisture ensures good emergence and seedling growth.
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Soil structure: As the soil under polythene mulch remains undisturbed during the

cropping period, it maintains higher porosity resulting in better root growth and
nodulation.

Soil

microorganisms: Population of microorganisms (fungi, actinomycetes,

ammonifiers, nitrogen fixing bacteria and nutrient solubilizing bacteria) in the soil goes
up significantly under polythene mulch, which accelerates the decomposition and
transformation of organic matter leading to increasing levels of available nutrients in
the soil.
Microclimate: During the mid-growing stage, reflection of sunlight by polythene film

increases illumination between rows; Accumulated soil temperature is more and the
wind speed between the rows is faster; Faster wind speeds favor air exchange and
CO 2 movement; All these factors increase photosynthetic efficiency.
Cultivation practices

Selection of polythene film: Polythene film with thickness varying between 0.004 mm

and 0.014 mm can be used for mulching, but the thickness of 0.007 mm is optimum
and economic; Film should have light transmittance > 70% and elasticity > 100%;
Width of the film will depend on the cropping season and the type of variety to be
grown (small seeded or large-seeded); It can vary between 750 mm and 900 mm;
Preference should be given to biodegradable film, if found economic.

Land preparation and fertilizer application: Deep tillage must be carried out for

polythene mulching; Field should be prepared thoroughly before seedbed formation;

Fertilizer requirement under mulched conditions is higher than that of the nonmulched conditions because of higher yields obtained under the former; FYM should
be applied at the time of land preparation and the inorganic fertilizers at the time of
seedbed formation.

Seedbed formation: 50-60 cm wide beds (for planting two rows) alternated with 30

cm furrows are made 4-6 days before sowing, either by a bed-former drawn by tractor
or manually; Beds should be 11-12 cm high with both sides vertical and the surface
smooth without clods or pebbles so that the film hugs the soil surface and is not
dislodged by strong
winds.
Seed beds for polythene
mulching

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Polythene mulching: Mulching can be done either before or after sowing; Before laying
polythene film over the bed, appropriate herbicide should be sprayed over the bed to
kill weeds; Film can be laid manually or by a mulching machine drawn by a power
tiller; Polythene film should be well stretched over the bed surface and buried on either
side of the bed.

Manual mulching

Machine mulching

Sowing after mulching: Holes, 3-4 cm deep, are made at desired spacing with a hole-

maker; Two seeds are placed in each hole and covered with soil; If soil moisture is
low, some water is poured in the hole and seeds are covered with moist soil; Some
additional soil is also placed over the hole to cover the edges of polythene.

Making holes with a hole-maker

Sowing and covering holes with soil

Sowing before mulching: Normal sowing with two seeds per hill is done in rows 30-40
cm apart on bed surface followed by
mulching; As the soil cracks due to
emerging seedlings, holes of 4-5 cm
diameter are made over the crack in the
film and the hole is covered with moist soil
to facilitate emergence of seedlings
through the holes in polythene film.
Making holes at seed cracks

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Good quality, uniform sized seeds with > 98% germination should be used in sowing
after appropriate chemical seed treatment; Seedlings and young plants should be
inspected regularly to ensure that all emerging lateral branches are over the film; In
case some seeds fail to germinate, the gaps should be filled in early, preferably with
sprouted seeds.

Cultural management: Shallow hoeing should be done in furrows as and when required

to keep them weed free and encourage water infiltration and moisture conservation;
Irrigation should be given in furrows when long dry spell occurs at moisture sensitive
stages such as peak flowering, pegging and podding; Appropriate plant protection
measures and other cultural treatments should be followed as and when required.

Harvesting: Crop under polythene mulch matures 7-10 days earlier than the non-

mulched crop, pod maturity is relatively uniform under the former; When 90% pods
are mature, the crop should be harvested; During harvesting, all film should be
retrieved from the soil and plants for recycling to avoid environmental pollution.

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17. References and further suggested reading

1. Anonymous. 1988. USA Peanuts. National Peanut Council of America, Virginia,
USA.
2. Bertioli, DJ, Seijo, G, Freitas, FO, Valls, JFM, Leal-Bertioli, SCM and Moretzohn, C.
2011. An overview of peanut and its wild relatives. Plant Genetic Resources:
Characterization and Utilization 9: 134-149.
3. CIAT. Biology and agronomy of forage Arachis (eds. Kerridge PC and Hardy B).
Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT), Cali, Colombia.
4. Davidson, JI Jr, Whitaker, TB and Dickens, JW. 1982. Grading, cleaning, storage,
shelling, and marketing of peanuts in the United States. Pages 571- 623. In Peanut
Science and Technology (eds. Pattee HE and Young, CT), American Peanut
Research and Education Society, Inc. Yoakum, Texas 77995, USA.
5. Deshmukh, SN, Satpute, GN, Dabre, WM and Deshmukh, RG. 2001. The PKV
method of groundnut seed production. International Arachis Newsletter 21: 23-24.
6. Dwivedi, SL, Crouch, JH, Nigam, SN, Ferguson, ME and Paterson, AH. 2003.
Molecular breeding of groundnut for enhanced productivity and food security in
the semi-arid tropics: opportunities and challenges. Advances in Agronomy 80:
153-221.
7. FAOSTAT 2013.
8. Gautami, B, Foncka, D, Pandey, MK, Moretzsohn, MC, Sujay, V, Qin, H, Hong, Y,
Faye, I, Chen, X, BhanuPrakash, A, Shah, TM, Gowda, MVC, Nigam, SN, Liang, X,
Hoisington, DA, Guo, B, Bertioli, DJ, Rami, J-F and Varshney, RK. 2012. An
international reference consensus genetic map with 913 marker loci based on 11
mapping populations for tetraploid groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.). PLoS ONE 7
(7): e41213.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0041213
9. Hildebrand, GL. 1996. The status of technologies used to achieve high groundnut
yields in Zimbabwe. Pages 101-114 In Achieving high groundnut yields:
proceedings of an international workshop, 25-29 Aug 1995, Laixi City, Shandong,
China (eds. Renard, C, Gowda, CLL, Nigam, SN and Johansen, C), Patancheru 502
324, Andhra Pradesh, India. International Crops Research Institute for the SemiArid Tropics.
10. Holbrook, CC and Stalker, HT. 2003. Peanut breeding and genetic resources. Plant
Breeding Reviews 22: 297-355.
11. Holbrook, CC, Ozias-Akins, P, Chu, Y and Guo, B. 2011. Impact of molecular genetic
research on peanut cultivar development. Agronomy 1: 3-17.
12. IBPGR and ICRISAT. 1992. Descriptors for groundnut. Rome, Italy: International
Board of Plant Genetic Resources; and Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, India:
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics.
13. Isleib, TG, Wynne, JC and Nigam, SN. 1994. Groundnut breeding. Pages 552-623.
In The groundnut crop: A scientific basis for improvement. (ed. Smartt,
J),Chapman and Hall, London.
14. Janila, P, Nigam, SN, Pandey, MK, Nagesh, P, and Varshney, RK. 2013. Groundnut
improvement: use of genetic and genomic tools. Frontiers in Plant Science 4: 23.
Doi: 10.3389/fpls. 2013. 00023.
15. Knauft DA, Norden, AJ and Gorbet, DW.1987. Peanut. Pages 346-384. In Principles
of cultivar development, Volume 2. Crop Species (ed. Fehr, WR). Macmillan
Publishing Co., New York, USA.
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16. Knauft, DA and Wynne, JC. 1995. Peanut breeding and genetics. Advances in
Agronomy 55: 393-445.
17. Murthy, TGK and Reddy, PS.1993. Genetics of groundnut. Pages 144-269 in
Cytogenetics and genetics of groundnuts. Intercept Ltd., UK.
18. Narasimham, NV. 1999. Hand picked and selected (HPS) groundnut Indian
industry and trade. Agricultural Situation in India:179-190.
19. Nigam, SN. 2000. Some strategic issues in breeding for high and stable yield in
groundnut in India. Journal of Oilseeds Research 17:1-10.
20. Nigam SN, Prasada Rao, RDVJ, Bhatnagar-Mathur, P and Sharma, KK. 2012.
Genetic management of virus diseases in peanut. Plant Breeding Reviews 36: 293356.
21. Nigam, SN Nigam, Rao, MJV and Gibbons, RW. 1990. Artificial hybridization in
groundnut. Information Bulletin no. 29. International Crops Research Institute for
the Semi-Arid Tropics, Andhra Pradesh 502 324, India.
22. Nigam, SN, Waliyar, F, Aruna, R, Reddy, SV, Lava Kumar, P, Craufurd, PQ, Diallo,
AT, Ntare, BR and Upadhyaya, HD. 2009. Breeding peanut for resistance to
aflatoxin contamination at ICRISAT. Peanut Science 36:42-49.
23. Norden, AJ, Smith, OD and Gorbet, DW. 1982. Breeding of the cultivated peanut.
Pages 95- 122. In Peanut Science and Technology (eds. Pattee HE and Young,
CT), American Peanut Research and Education Society, Inc. Yoakum, Texas 77995,
USA.
24. Pandey MK, Monyo E, Ozias-Akins P, Liang X, Guimares P, Nigam SN, Upadhyaya
HD, Janila P, Zhang X, Guo B, Cook DR, Bertioli DJ, Michelmore R and Varshney
RK. 2012. Advances in Arachis genomics for peanut improvement. Biotechnology
Advances 30: 639-651.
25. Sanders, TH, Schubert AM and Pattee HE. 1982. Maturity methodology and postharvest physiology. p. 624-654. In Peanut Science and Technology (eds. Pattee HE
and Young CT), American Peanut Research and Education Society, Inc. Yoakum,
Texas 77995, USA.
26. Singh AK, Mehan, VK and Nigam, SN. 1997. Sources of resistance to groundnut
fungal and bacterial diseases: an update and appraisal. Information Bulletin no.
50. Patancheru, 502 324, Andhra Pradesh, India: International Crops Research
Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics. 48pp.
27. Singh AK and Nigam, SN. 1997. Groundnut. Pages 114-127 In Biodiversity in Trust
(eds. Fuccillo D, Sears, L and Stapleton, P), Cambridge University Press, UK.
28. Stalker, HT. 1997. Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.). Field Crops Research 53: 205217.
29. Stalker, HT and Mozingo, LG. 2001. Molecular markers of Arachis and markerassisted selection. Peanut Science 28: 117-123.
30. Stalker, HT and Simpson, CE. 1995. Germplasm Resources in Arachis. Pages 1453. In Advances in Peanut Science (eds. Pattee, HE and Stalker, HT), American
Peanut Research and Education Society, Inc., Stillwater, OK 74078, USA.
31. Stalker, HT, Weissinger, AK, Milla-Lewis, S and Holbrook. 2009. Genomics: An
emerging science in peanut. Peanut Science 36: 2-10.
32. Subrahmanyam, P, Wongkaew, S, Reddy, DVR, Demski, JW, McDonald, D, Sharma,
SB, Smith, DH, Nigam, SN and Sudini, H. 2012. Field diagnosis of groundnut
diseases. Information Bulletin no. 36 (revised). Patancheru, A.P. 502 324, India:
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics. 88 pp.
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33. Sunkara S, Bhatnagar-Mathur P and Sharma KK. 2013. Transgenic interventions in

peanut crop improvement: progress and prospects. Pages 179-216. In Genetics,
Genomics and Breeding of Peanuts (eds. Mallikarjuna N and Varshney RK). CRC
Press, Taylor and Francis Boca Raton, Florida.
34. Upadhyaya, HD, Sharma, S and Dwivedi, SL. 2011. Arachis. Pages 1-19 In Wild
Crop Relatives: Genomic and Breeding Resources, Legume Crops and Forages, (ed.
C Kole). Springler-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg.
35. USDA-ARS. 2008. Peanut Biodiesel: From the field to the fuel tank.
36. Vasudeva Rao, MJ, Nigam, SN, and Huda, AKS.1992. The thermal time concept as
a selection criterion for earliness in peanut. Peanut Science 19: 7-10.
37. Vindhiyavarman, P and Gunasekaran, M. 2012.Participatory plant breeding theory
and practices. Kalyani Publishers, India. 185 pp.
38. Waliyar, F, Kumar, PL, Ntare, BR, Monyo, E, Nigam, SN, Reddy, AS, Osiru M and
Diallo, AT. 2007. A century of research on groundnut rosette disease and its
management. Information Bulletin no. 75. Patancheru 502 324, Andhra Pradesh,
India: International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics. 40 pp.
39. Wright, DL. 2012. Production of biofuel crops in Florida: peanut. Publication # SS
AGR 295. Agronomy Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute
of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. USDA-ARS. 2008. Peanut
biodiesel from the field to the fuel tank. South Atlantic National Peanut Research
Lab, USA.
40. Wynne, JC and Gregory, WC. 1981. Peanut breeding. Advances in Agronomy 34:
39-72.
41. Yanhao, S, Shouxiang, T, Caibin, W. 1996. Theoretical foundations for high yield
of groundnut in China. Pages 129-139 in Achieving high groundnut yields:
proceedings of an international workshop, 25-29 Aug 1995, Laixi City, Shandong,
China ( eds. Renard, C, Gowda, CLL, Nigam, SN and Johansen, C), Patancheru 502
324, Andhra Pradesh, India. International Crops Research Institute for the SemiArid Tropics.

Page 117

About the author

After serving close to 38 years as Principal
Scientist (Groundnut Breeding) with ICRISAT
in Asia and Africa, the author retired from
active service in June 2012. During his tenure
with ICRISAT, he held several senior
positions in Legumes Program. As freelance
consultant, he now focusses on agriculture
as a means of development in developing
countries.
He graduated in 1974 with a PhD degree in
plant breeding from GB Pant University of
Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar,
Uttarakhand. He has more than 365
publications to his credit, which include
journal articles, books/book chapters,
Information/Research bulletins, conference
papers and newsletter articles. More than
130 groundnut cultivars developed by him
and his team are released jointly with NARS
in 35 countries in Asia and Africa. His services
in promoting the cause of groundnut in Asia have been recognised by the national
programs in Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Other
special recognitions include Medal for Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development, Government of Vietnam, Hanoi, Vietnam;
Distinguished Carrier Achievements Recognition by The Peanut Genome Consortium
International Peanut Genome Initiative, USA; Doreen Mashler Award 2009 for
Lifetime contribution to enhancing groundnut production and increasing incomes of
farmers in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa by ICRISAT.
He is accredited guide for research scholars in universities in India, China and
Thailand. He has served on various committees of Indian Council of Agricultural
Research and universities in India and the USA. He carried out several consultancy
and editorial assignments. He is member of various professional societies and NGOs.
Currently, he heads Asian Agri-History Foundation (website:asianagrihistory.org),
which is engaged in disseminating information on history and heritage of agriculture
in Asia and promoting environment friendly sustainable agriculture based on validated
ancient agricultural practices.
***

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