PJB-1999-41
ESTIMATION OF GENETIC EFFECTS AND HERITABILITY FOR EARLY MATURITY AND AGRONOMIC TRAITS IN PEANUT (ARACHIS HYPOGAEA L.,)
NAAZAR ALl, J.C. WYNNE* AND J.P. MURPHY*
Abstract
Studies were carried out to detennine the inheritance and heritability of early maturity and yield traits where 2 high yielding virginia types (No. 334 and 'NC 9') were crossed with an early maturing spanish type (lCGSE-4) of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.). A field trial with eight generations per cross (P1, P2, Fl, F2, BC11, BC12, BC11S, BC12S) was conducted at two locations in North Carolina during 1989. Analysis of generation means indicated that additive genetic effects were important for yield per plant, maturity index and seed weight in both crosses. Dominance effects were also important for yield per plant, maturity index, seed number and shelling percentage in cross 1but only for maturity index in cross 2. Epistasis was not important for the desired traits in either population. Significant additive effects suggest that effective selection for early maturity, seed weight and yield is possible. Selection for seed weight could be accomplished in the F2 generation in both crosses. Selection for early maturity would be more effective in later generations. Narrow sense heritability (h2) was estimated using variance components in F2 generation and two backcrosses.2 Narrow sense heritability estimates were fairly high for seed number (0.83) and pod length (0.43) in cross 1 and for all the traits except yield/plant in cross 2. The results suggested that selection for seed number, pod length and seed weight is possible in early segregating generations in both the crosses while for early maturity it is possible in cross 2 only. For yield selection would be more effective in later generations. Correlations of maturity with seed number and shelling percentage were positive and highly significant in both the crosses. Maturity was negatively correlated with pod length and seed weight in cross 2. Positive and highly significant correlations for yield per plant with seed number, seed weight and shelling percentage indicated that selection based on any of these traits could indirectly increase yield.
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