Abstract
Seed yield of selected Nigerian Bambara Groundnut landraces under two varying water conditions was evaluated. Twenty eight (28) Bambara groundnut accessions were planted in a randomized complete block design with two treatments (Non-water stressed and Water stressed) and replicated five times. The experiment was conducted at the Experimental Garden of the Department of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State. The accessions were planted in planting bags during the cropping season of 2016 between July and October. The two treatments were rain fed until maturity except during the period of exposure to water stress where the water stressed plants were transferred to a screen house made with polyvinyl ceiling to prevent water during the flowering stage for two weeks. It was observed that water stress reduced the yield of the Bambara groundnut landraces by 47%. Accessions NGB-01646-B, NGR-NI-20-H and NGB-01491 which had relatively high yield in the stressed and non- water stressed condition were considered the most drought tolerant accessions and accession NGR-KG-02-C with low yield both in stressed and non-stressed conditions was identified as the most susceptible accession. Accessions which had high yield only in water stressed conditions could serve as elite line for Bambara groundnut for areas which have problem of drought. These drought tolerant accessions identified in the research can serve as potential parent lines in breeding programmes aimed at the development of drought tolerant varieties of Bambara groundnut.
Highlights
Bambara groundnut is a leguminous crop that is well cultivated by farmers in Nigeria
The area falls within the Southern Guinea savannah vegetation zone of Nigeria with an annual precipitation varying from 1,100-1,600 mm, mean temperature between 21 oC and 36.5 oC and relative humidity between 50 to 61% (The Nigerian Congress, 2007)
Experimental design Bambara groundnut accessions were grown in two different treatments: T1- Non water stressed condition (Plants were rain fed throughout the experiment) and T2Stressed condition (Plants were deprived of water for 14 days during the flowering period by transferring plants to a shade house made of transparent polyvinyl ceiling)
Summary
Bambara groundnut is a leguminous crop that is well cultivated by farmers in Nigeria. It is believed to have originated from Nigeria and Cameroon as the distribution of wild Bambara groundnut was found to extend from Jos Plateau and Yola in Nigeria, to Garoua in Cameroon (Goli, 1997). It is in West Africa that most of the world’s Bambara groundnut is grown and where the crop is most prominent in the traditions of rural communities. It is an herbaceous annual crop that grows for about 0.30-0.35 m in height; it has both erect and prostrate forms (Bamshaiye et al, 2011). It forms seed and pods in subsurface of the soil. The seeds vary in terms of colour from white, cream, dark brown, red or black which may be patterned with combination of these colours
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