Studies on efficiency of artificial hybridization in groundnut (Arachis hypogea L.)

Groundnut being an important oilseed crop worldwide poses many challenges in its improvement. One such factor is hybridization. The crop produces self-pollinated papilionaceous flowers for the crossing of which hand emasculation and dusting are the best methods employed. In the present study, 10 cultivars of groundnut varying in agronomic traits were crossed in L × T fashion of 5 × 5 set to obtain 25 crosses to study the efficiency of hybridization. The F₁s of the crosses were raised and their truthfulness was identified and confirmed by the varying traits between male and female parent and also at the molecular level. Hybridization success rate recorded a range of 25.4% to 42.3%.