Abstract
Groundnuts (Arachis hypogaea L.) are the second most important legume crops after beans, an important source of protein (23 to 25%), fats/oils (40 to 52%) and carbohydrates (10 to 20 %) and widely grown and consumed in Uganda including the Lake Albert Crescent Zone (LACZ). Due to susceptibility of local varieties to groundnut rosette, National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) through the National Semi Arid Resources Research Institute (NaSARRI) developed and released the serenut varieties. Adaptive trials were therefore established in the LACZ, to select the most location specific adapted varieties for promotion in this ecologically diverse zone. Four serenut varieties namely serenut 5, 8, 10 and 14 and a locally grown variety (Red beauty) were planted on three farmers’ fields in each of the three sub-ecological areas. Data were collected on total pod dry weight (yield), number of pods and on 100 seed weight. In this study, we show that overall yields of serenut 5, serenut 14, serenut 8 and serenut 10 were highly significantly (P < 0.001) different for all traits measured across the sub-ecological areas. Best yields were recorded from the humid tropical rain forest sub-ecological area where 1900 kg/ha were obtained for serenut 14, 2366 kg/ha for serenut 10, 1763 kg/ha for serenut 8 and 1795 kg/ha for serenut 5. The yields obtained from these varieties were generally worst in the semi-arid sub-ecological area. These serenut varieties are generally adapted to wider environmental conditions although their performance per se was found to be generally inconsistent. This study has also found that among all the varieties tested, Serenut 5 was the best adapted across all the sub-ecologies. Overall, we therefore recommend farmers in this ecologically diverse zone to grow these groundnut varieties with improved growing practices such as timely planting, timely weeding, earthing up and pest and disease management in order to obtain consistent high yields. Key words: Groundnut, performance, stability, sub-ecological area.
Highlights
Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L., 2n = 4x= 40) is the second most important legume crop in Uganda
We show that overall yields of serenut 5, serenut 14, serenut 8 and serenut 10 were highly significantly (P < 0.001) different for all traits measured across the subecological areas
In each sub ecological area, three farmers were selected to host the trials on whose fields each of the five groundnut varieties were planted on three random 3x5 m plots arranged as randomized complete block design (RCBD) with the three sub-ecological zones considered as blocks and nine replications
Summary
Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L., 2n = 4x= 40) is the second most important legume crop in Uganda. It is a major food and income source. To overcome some of these production constraints, the National Groundnut Improvement Programme has released several groundnut varieties (Deom and Okello, 2018). Continued cultivation of local cultivars has resulted in persistently low productivity at farm level (Kaizzi et al, 2012; Okello et al, 2014; Deom and Okello, 2018), often leading to unreliability of the crop’s yields and thereby undermining food security at household and national level (Kebede and Tana, 2014; Gadgil et al, 2012)
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