Evaluation of Drought-tolerant Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) Breeding Lines for Agronomic Performance under Rainfed Conditions in Ethiopia

Drought stress has a significant impact on groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) production, causing severe yield losses, especially in semi-arid regions. The development of drought-tolerant cultivars is important to reduce the adverse effect of water constraint on groundnut productivity. This study aimed to evaluate the agronomic performance of 17 advanced drought-tolerant groundnut breeding lines and a standard control variety, Werer- 961, under rainfed conditions at Pawe Agricultural Research Center (PARC), Ethiopia, during the 2022 and 2023 cropping seasons.

The field experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications over two consecutive years. The study evaluated 17 advanced groundnut breeding lines, including the standard check variety, Werer-961. Selection was based on their previously evaluated performance in drought-prone regions and demonstrated high yield potential under stress conditions. The chosen lines comprised both early- and late- maturing cultivars to assess their adaptability to varying drought intensities. Critical traits related to drought tolerance and yield potential in water-limited environments were recorded. Statistical analyses, including correlation analysis, histogram evaluation and Q-Q plot analysis, were performed to identify superior genotypes.

The experiment depicted significant variation of genotypes against all the important agronomic characteristics, such as days to emergence, days to maturity, pod yield, seed yield, pods per plant and seed weight. Several lines, including RDRGVT ICGV SM 01514, RDRGVT ICGV 14788 and RDRGVT ICGV 8540, exceeded the check variety based on pod and seed yield. The genotype-byenvironment interaction was significant for pod quantity per plant and seed weight. Correlation research showed that pod number per plant was very significantly related to both pod yield and seed production. These results are important findings in the development of drought-tolerant groundnut cultivars that can produce well under stressful conditions in the rainfed agriculture of Ethiopia.