Induction Of Genetic Variability In Selected Groundnut (Arachis Hypogaea L.) Genotypes Using Neutron Irradiation

📄 Project Abstract

Improvement of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is constrained by its narrow genetic base. Studies were conducted to compare the sensitivity of groundnut genotypes to different doses of thermal neutron irradiation, to determine the effective dose for the induction of variability among the genotypes and to evaluate the variability for farmer preferred traits induced by the irradiation. Three genotypes of groundnut; SAMNUT 21 SAMNUT 23 and SAMNUT 24 obtained from the Institute for Agricultural research were irradiated with five doses of thermal neutron irradiation, 0 Gy, 3 Gy, 6 Gy, 9 Gy and 12 Gy at the Centre for Energy Research and Training, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 2013. The irradiated seeds and their respective controls were sown in a randomized complete block design with three replications in the screen house to produce M1 plants. A total of 96 M1 families generated from M1 plus three controls were evaluated using 11 x 12 augmented designs in 2014. Data were collected on pl...