Combining Ability Studies for Growth and Yield Related Traits in Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Line X tester analysis was carried out involving four lines and three testers in groundnut for assessing the combining ability with respect to 10 growth and yield related traits. The estimates of GCA:SCA variance revealed the predominance of non-additive gene action for all the characters studied namely, days to 50 per cent flowering, plant height, number of pods per plant, pod yield per plant, number of kernels per plant, kernel yield per plant, sound mature kernel per cent, shelling percentage and test weight except for number of primary branches per plant. The genotypes NRCG 12568, NRCG 11915 and NRCG 12326 were good general combiners for all the characters studied. The crosses NRCG 12568 X NRCG 12326 and NRCG 12899 X NRCG 12965 were good specific combiners for number of pods per plant, pod yield per plant, number of kernels per plant and kernel yield per plant, while NRCG 12899 X ICGV 95454 was a good specific combiner for sound mature kernel per cent, shelling percentage and test weight. The hybrids NRCG 12568 x NRCG 12326, NRCG 11915 x ICGV95454, NRCG 12899 x NRCG 12965, NRCG 12274 x NRCG 12965 exhibiting desirable sca effects involved parents with high and low gca effects indicating the influence of nonadditive gene interactions. Parents of these crosses can be used for biparental mating or reciprocal recurrent selection for developing superior varieties with high yield. Crosses with higher sca having both parents with good gca effects could be exploited by pedigree method of breeding to get transgressive segregants.