TITLE:
Character Association Studies in Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.)
AUTHORS:
Olalekan J. Olasan, Celestine U. Aguoru, Lucky O. Omoigui, Ebenezer J. Ekefan
KEYWORDS:
Groundnut, Qualitative Characters, Quantitative Relationship, Breeding, Systematics
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.9 No.7,
June
26,
2018
ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to evaluate the degree of
relationship and association amongst morphological characters of groundnut as
an important food crop in Nigeria. 118 cultivars were planted in a completely
randomized design structure. Characterization was based on qualitative and
quantitative evaluations of 62 characters. Data were analysed on the SPSS software (20.0 versions). Correlation
tools were applied using Spearman, Kendall and Pearson methods. Level of
relationship was determined based on the strength of coefficients R. Dependence
among traits was tested using the Chi square. Multiple regression analysis was
carried out in a predictive model. As a result, many of the traits are very
weakly correlated. Day to emergence has no effect on Day to 50% flowering (R =
0.237, p p p p p Plant height also moderately affects leaflet sizes
(R = 0.354, p 2 of 13%. Plant biomass moderately affects number of pod (R =
0.494, p p p p p > 0.6, p the number of seeds present
(R = 0.551, p 2 of 30%. Qualitative traits have no effect on each other as all coefficients are
very low. Pod constriction and sizes have no relationship (R = -0.029). Tolerance to diseases is not affected by any
qualitative trait. Also, no trait determines seed colour. Pubescence of young
and mature leaflets recorded the only high positive correlation among all
qualitative traits (R = 0.837, p = 0.01). However, leaf and stem pubescence have no
relationship. The following traits significantly depend on cultivar type: disease
tolerance (χ2 = 17.93, p = 0.000), plant survivorship (χ2 = 39.97, p = 0.000) and pod yield (χ2 = 69.695, p = 0.008). Seed yield has been predicted in a fit
model with R2 of 51% and significant p values (p