TECHNICAL BULLETIN 116 ISSN 0070-2315

IMPROVED CONFECTIONERY PEANUT VARIETIES

A. Hadjichristodoulou

!RECEIVED ! 21 SEP 1990

AGll.ICULTURAL RESEARCH 11_ I0:S1ITUTE -- --------, J

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AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES

NICOSIA CYPRUS

JULY 1990

IMPROVED CONFECTIONERY PEANUT VARIETIES

A. Hadjichrtstodouleu

SUMMARY

Confectionery types of peanuts were evaluated at Akhelia, Paphos, during 1985-1989. The best variety, HYQ-25 (HYQ(CG) 5-25 (M13xNC AC 17352» outyielded the Local by 2.3% in pod yield and by 6.2% in kernel yield. The 1000-kernel weight of this variety was 910 g compared to 804 g of Local. Oil content was 54% and crude protein content 22%, similar to Local. Other promising varieties were Hazera 234n3 and GK-3. Application of iron chiline A12 to cure calcium induced iron chlorosis verified earlier results and increased kernel yield, dry matter yield of forage and number of pods per plant. The effect of iron varied with variety; it was negligible in Local and maximum in HYQ-49(HYQ(CG)5-49(Ah­114xNCAC 1107». The dry matter yield of forage was positively correlated with kernel yield, lateness, 1000-kernel weight and crude protein content. Kernel yield was positively cor­related with shelling percentage and pod yield with kernel yield . The 1Ooo-kernel weight was positively correlated with crude protein content.

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INTRODUCTION

Cyprus is currently self-sufficient in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L) as a result of mechanization of sowing and harvesting practices (Hadjichristodou­lou, 1987). However, the market price of locally produced peanuts is almost 80% higher than that of the world market. A way to reduce cost per kg of peanuts is to grow higher kernel yielding varieties.

Peanuts in Cyprus are consumed roasted as snacks and in certain pastry products, but they are not used for industrial oil production. The confec­tionery varieties, which are suitable for these uses, are characterized by large kernels (>800 mg), high ratio of oleic to linoleic acid (enabling longer stor­age ability), high sucrose content, high seed unifor­mity, easy peeling, facilitated by oblong kernel shape and crisp texture (ICRISAT, personal commu­nication). Confectionery types belong to Virginia Bunch types or Virginia Runner types (Hadjichristo­doulou, 1987). Spanish or Valencia types produce relatively small kernels. The Local variety belongs to Virginia Bunch type.

The first results of the evaluation of peanut varieties were reported by Hadjichristodoulou (1987). Some new varieties outyielded Local by up to 63%, but their 1000-kernel weights was lower than that of Local.

The aim of the present trials was to evaluate of confectionery types of peanuts in comparison with Local.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Most varieties for this study were obtained from ICRISAT, India. The line, Hazera 234/73, efficient in iron absorption (Hartzook et aI, 1974), was ob­tained from Israel and the line GK-3, introduced from USA, from the Department of Agriculture, Cy­prus.

The trials were carried out in the area of Akhelia (paphos) from 1985 to 1989. The randomized com­plete block design with four replications was used in all trials . Plots consisted of six 4-m long rows of which only the four central rows were harvested for yield. Between-row spacing was 45 em and within­row spacing 10 ern. In the 1988 trials, in which some Spanish types and Virginia runner types were included, the optimum spacing for each variety as recommended by the literature, was used (Table 1). The trials were fertilized with 108 kg P205/ha, and

112 kg K/ha. Since N fertilizer is necessary in pea­nuts, where rhizobia are not present (papastylianou, 1989a), 170 kg N/ha were also applied. Irrigation was provided as needed for normal growth (around 5000 t/ha), There was no rainfall during the grow­ing period of peanuts. Harvesting was done in Oc­tober.

In the 1989 trial, in which significant iron in­duced chlorosis was observed at the 3-5 leaf stage, iron chilene A12 (EDDHA) was applied at two of the four replications at a rate of 20 kg/ha (Papasty­lianou, 1990). Thus, this trial, though sown as ran­domized complete block design, was analyzed as split-plot, with iron chelates and the control treat­ments in main plots and varieties in sub-plots. As number of degrees of freedom for testing the signifi­cance of the effects of Fe application was very small (Fo.os;l,l) the results related to iron chelate ef­fects should be considered as verification of earlier results (Papastylianou, 1990) and an observation on the relative effect of Fe on varieties.

Five lines, ICG-799, ICG-1326, ICG-1712, ICG­6323 and ICG-7892, were introduced from ICRISAT for observations on iron chlorosis under ordinary fieldconditions.

The flowering date (when 50% of the plants in a plot reached flowering stage), the pod and kernel yields (sun dried, 5-8 moisture content), the shell­ing percentage (percent of kernel weight in pods), the 1000-kernel weight, the dry matter weight of above ground forage after removing the pods, the number of plants per m2, the number of pods per plant and oil and the crude protein content (%N x 5.3) were recorded. Chlorosis was recorded visually as percentage of yellow leaves in a plot. The col­our of the mature kernel was also recorded.

Correlation coefficients among traits were com­puted in order to determine selection criteria. Plot data were used for these computations and the num­ber of pairs of observations (N) was not the same in all cases.

RESULTS

Comparison of varieties

Differences among varieties were significant for almost all traits studied. In the 1988 trials the pod and kernel yield of Local, was among the highest, 5.0 and 3.1 t/ha, respectively (Table 1). Kernel yield of the varieties was not significantly different, ex­

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Table 1. Agronomic performance of selected peanut varieties in 1988 (means of two trials, Akhelia, Kouklia)

Pod Kernel 1000- Number Number Dry matter Variety yield yield Shelling Flowering kernel Protein Oil of plants of pods of forage

kg/ha) (kg/ha) (0/0) date weight content content per m' per (kgjha) (1 =lst May) (g) (0/0) (0/0) plant

Local 4975 3106 62 23 775 21 54 18 16 9455

Local* 4693 2948 63 23 753 22 53 21 13 11564

NC2 4727 3042 64 23 824 22 52 16 17 10465

NC7 4676 2900 62 20 774 22 51 16 16 9974

~ HYQ-25 4388 2765 63 24 830 23 53 17 15 11874

HYQ48* 4336 2702 62 19 651 20 55 18 16 10333

HYQ49 3966 2698 68 22 913 22 55 17 11 13695

ICGS-61* 4564 3017 67 18 599 19 56 20 17 6922

Hazera 234/73 5002 3200 64 19 808 21 53 17 17 11672

GK-3 4692 2895 62 22 894 21 52 18 13 10979

GK-3** 4083 2554 63 24 925 21 51 6 31 9363

SE (±) 226 169 1.05 0.181 19.0 0.533 1.001 0.54 0.932 905 CV(%) 14.0 16.5 4.6 2.4 6.8 5.0 3.8 9.0 16.0 12.1

* Plots consisted of 9 rows, 30 em apart, within row spacing 10 em

** Plots consisted of 5 rows, 54 em apart, within row spacing 30 em (All other varieties 6 rows, 45 em apart, within row spacing 10 em)

cept for GK-3, sown at the wide spacing (54x30 ern),

The yield of this variety was not significantly dif­ferent from that of other varieties at the narrow spacing (3OxlO ern), Differences among flowering date (18-24 May), in shelling percentage and crude protein and oil content were significant.

Varieties HYQ-48 and ICGS-61 (Spanish Bunch types) were sown at narrow between-row spacings (30xlO ern). These varieties had the lowest 1000­kernel weight, 599 g and 651 g, respectively. HYQ­49, GK-3 and HYQ-25 (HYQ (CG)S-25 (M13 x NC AC 17352)) had lOoo-kernel weight above 830 g, compared to 775 g of the Local.

Dry matter of forage was high, around 10 t/ha. The Spanish Bunch type ICGS-49 gave the lowest yield (7 t/ha) and HYQ-49 the highest (14 t/ha).

The average number of pods per plant, a signifi­cant yield component, varied between 11 and 17. At the wide spacing (6 plants/m2),GK-3 produced 31

pods per plant compared to 13 pods in the more dense stand (18 plants/m-), For most of the varie ­ties, the number of pods per plant was around 16­17, except for HYQ-49, which had 11 pods.

The agronomic performance of the four most promising new varieties compared with Local over years is given in Tables 2 and 3. HYQ-25, an ICRI­SAT line, had 2.3% higher pod yield, 6.2% higher kernel yield and 12.8% higher lOoo-kernel weight than Local in seven trials over five year (Table 2). GK -3, a USA line, gave 3% higher pod and kernel yield and 22% higher lOoo-kernel weight in four trials during three years. Hazera 234/73, an Israeli line efficient in iron absorption, gave 3% higher pod yield, 6% higher kernel yield and 6% higher 1000­kernel weight than Local in three trials conducted during two seasons. Finally, HYQ-49, another ICRI­SAT line, had 12.6% higher kernel yield and 19% higher lOOO-kernel weight than Local. The colour of the kernel was red to dark red in all varieties. However, kernels of HYQ-49 were pale to light red, not preferred by the local consumer.

Table 2. Pod and kernel yield (kg/ha) for the best varieties during 1985-89

Year and number of locations

1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Variety I loc 210c l loc 210c l loc

Pod yield Local 5580 4037 6258 4975 5562 HYQ -25 7104 3958 5942 4387 6609 GK -3 6596 4691 6516 Hazera 234/73 5000 6010 HYQ (49) 7160* 5700 3965 6046 SE± 777 351 261 262 508

Kernel yield Local 3802 2264 3681 3105 3828 HYQ-25 4676 2388 3688 2765 4751 GK-3 3988 2895 4427 Hazera 3200 4267 HYQ-49 5054 * 3639 2698 4402 SE± 551 219 234 245 356

* HYQ-49 was tested in a separate trial at one location where pod yield of Local was 6017 and kernel yield 3592 kg/ha.

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Table 3. lOoo-kernel weight (g), Oil content (%) and Crude protein content (%) for the best varieties during 1985-89

Year and number of location

1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Variety 1 10c 210c 110c 2 10c lIoc

1000 Kernel weight Locill 825 781 796 775 859 HYQ -25 970 895 899 830 989 GK-3 1055 894 1058 Hazera 808 941 HYQ-49 908 913 1083 SE± 44 17 22 19.4 21

Oil content Local 54 53 55 54 51 HYQ-25 52 56 56 53 53 GK-3 59 52 51 Hazera 234/73 53 52 HYQ-49 56 55 57 SE± 0.9 0.64 1.0 1.44 0.64

Crude protein content Local 20 20 18 21 25 HYQ-25 23 18 19 23 24 GK-3 19 21 26 Hazera 234/73 21 25 HYQ -49 19 22 22 SE± 1.2 1.2 0.67 0.7 0.45

Eff ects of iron

The application of iron chiline in 1989 reduced the percentage of chlorosis in the five varieties. On average, over five varieties, percent chlorosis was 13% in the treated plots compared to 43% in the non treated. At the initial growth stages, before an­thesis on 15 July, Hazera 24/73 had the lowest per­centage of chlorosis, 5%, followed by Local, 8%. Chlorosis, for the other varieties was 25-27%. By 7 September percent chlorosis in the non-treated plots increased to 43% on average, with HYQ -49 having the lowest percentage, 25% (for the other varieties it ranged from 43% to 52%). On average over va­

rieties, pod yield was 6.7 t/ha in treated plots and 5.6 t/ha in non-treated plots; kernel yield was 4.8 t/ ha and 3.9 t/ha, respectively. Though treated plots gave on average over varieties 20-23% higher pod and kernel yield, these differences could not be shown significant by the F test, because of the small number of degrees of freedom (1,1). All other traits (e.g. shelling percentage, lOoo-kernel weight, oil and protein content were not influenced by Fe applications. The response of pod and kernel yield to to iron chiline application varied with variety (Table 4). The largest differences between treated and non-treated plots were observed in HYQ -49 and GK-3 and the smallest in Local and Hazera 234/73.

The five lines from ICRISAT, screened for iron chlorosis, were found less tolerant and agronomical­ly inferior to Local. The pod yield of the new lines in a nursery was 3-5 t/ha, compared to 9 t/ha of Local.

Table 4. Yield of five varieties as affected by Fe application in 1989

Pod yield Kernel yield (kg/ha) (kg/ha)

Variety + Fe Control +Fe Control

Locm 5506 5618 3768 3888 HYQ -25 7160 6058 5224 4278 HYQ -49 7435 4657 5477 3326 Hazera 6210 5810 4406 4128 GK -3 7379 5653 4966 3889

Associations among trait s

The correlation coefficients among trait s were computed in the 1988 trial with 11 entries at two locations (Table 5). Pod yield was positively corre ­lated with kernel yield (r=0.95, P=O.OOI). Forage yield was positively correlated with kernel yield, lateness, lOoo-kernel weight and crude protein con­tent . Kernel yield was positively correlated with shelling percentage. Number of plants per plot was negatively correlated with number of pods per plant and 1000-kernel weight. Some other correlation co­efficients were not consistent at all three cases (two locations and the combined analysis). Other signifi­cant associations are shown in Table 5.

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Table 5. Correlation coefficients among traits of peanuts and number of observations

LYLD NPL NPOP NUTY PERC FLDT THKW PROT OIL

PODY 0.40 0.10 0.22 0.95 -0.07 -0.52 0.20 -0.50 0.35 22 88 88 88 88 88 88 44 44

LYLD 0.32 -0.40 0.47 0.25 0.43 0.49 0.47 0.06 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22

NPL -0.82 0.14 0.17 0.03 -0.47 0.08 0.10 88 88 88 88 88 44 44

NPOD 0.17 -0.16 -0.19 0.18 -0.31 0.10 88 88 88 88 44 44

NUTY 0.24 -0.40 0.20 -0.43 0.35 88 88 88 44 44

PERC 0.36 -0.01 0.23 0.06 88 88 44 44

FLDT 0.06 0.87 -0.64 88 44 44

THKW 0.11 -0.06 44 44

PROT -0.67 44

(pODY )=Pod yield; LYLD=Forage yield; NPL=nurnber of plants/rn2; NPOD=nurnber of pods per plant; NUTY-kernel yield;

PERC=shelIing percentage; FLDT=f!owering date; THKW=l000-kernel weight; PROT=prote in content ; OIL=oil content

DISCUSSION yield. However, combined with the advantage of higher lOoo-kernel weight, there is a possibility to

The study, showed that the variety Local com­ release one of these varieties . HYQ-49 gave thebines high yield, higher tolerance to calcium induced lowest yield, without the application of iron chelates iron chlorosis than all new varieties tested and ac­

in a field where chlorosis was high in 1989. As iron ceptable kernel size and quality. Varieties which

induced chlorosis is common in Paphos (papastylia ­showed some promise (Hadjichristodoulou, 1987), nou, 1989b, 1990), varieties requiring iron chelates

when further tested were not superior to the Local to give their maximum yield should not be recom­

in all desirable traits and for this reason data are mended for realease. GK-3, a Virginia Runner type,

not reported here. may have higher losses at harvesting because of its

Mechanization of sowing and harvesting has re­ spreading habit (personal communications with IC­duced the cost of production of peanuts, but still the RISAT staff). GK-3 has also similar problems as prices of imported peanuts are much lower. Thus, HYQ-49, on iron chelates requirements . there is a need for higher yielding varieties than Lo­ . HYQ-25 and Hazera 234/73 combine the re ­cal, in order to reduce the cost of production per quired qualifications to replace Local. Hazera 234/ kg of peanuts. The four most promising of the new 73 is more tolerant to iron chlorosis but HYQ-25 varieties , evaluated in 3~6 trials during 1985-89, pro ­ has a better kernel yield and lOoo-kernel weight ad­duced larger kernels than Local, which satisfy the vantage, both giving an economic comparative ad­consumer's preferences. However, the yield superi­ vantage of HYQ-25 over other Varieties. Thus, ority of the new varieties was small, 2.0 - 3% in HYQ-25 seems to be the best of all the new varie ­the best cases for pod yield and 6-7% in kernel ties.

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Calcium induce d iro n chlorosis is a common problem in most calcareous soils and it re quires the application of iron chelates. This adds to the cost of production or excludes certain areas from sowing peanuts. This type of chlorosis can be corrected at no cos t by growing iron absorption efficient culti­vars. The original work in Israel on this subject (Hartzook et el..,1974) showed that there exists ge­netic variability for the efficiency of iron utilization in calcareous soils , such as Hazera 234n3, obtained from Israel. It is interesting that variety Local gave similar yield with and without the application of iron chelates. Other lines introduced from ICRISAT (India) and USA expressed a higher percentage of chlorosis than Local and Hazera 234n3.

Yield of forage (leaves, stems and roots) was rel­atively high (around 10 t/ha) in the present studies. Losses of foliage during commercial mechanical har­vesting and baling are , however, considerable. . HYQ-49 gave the highest forage yield (14 t/ha). Al­though selection of varieties is based on pod and kernel yields, dry matter yield of forage was posi­tively correlated with pod and ke rnel yields (Amin, 1988), a finding supp orted also by the present study.

Alth ough the studies on the associations among trait s were limited to only two sites in a single year, the re are indications that pod yield is positive­ly associated with kernel yield. Also , kernel yield was positively correlated with shelling percentage. Large-seeded varieties had higher crude protein Con­tent.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author is grateful to A. Pharmakides, G. Alexandrou, Chr. Theodorides and M. Mouzouris

for carrying out field, laboratory work and statisti­cal analyses. I also wish to thank the staff of the Institute at Akhelia (paphos) and of the Central Chemistry Laboratory for field and laboratory work . Special thanks are due to ICRISAT (India), Prof. S. Feldman (Israel) and Mr. D. Constantino u of the Depart ment of Agriculture, for providing material for this study.

REFERENCES

Amin, P .W. 1988. Groundnut yield maximization tri als in India, Rainy Season 1987. Intem ation­al Arachis Newsletter No. 4, 11-12.

Hadiichristodoulou, A. 1987. Cultivar and spacing trials with peanuts. Technical Bulletin No. 94, Cyprus Agricultural Research Institute. Nicosia, 9p.

Hartzook, A., D. Kartsadt , M. Naveh and S. Feld­man. 1974. Differential iron absorp tion effi­ciency of peanut (Arachis hyp ogaea L. ) culti ­vars grown on calcareous soils. Agronomy Joumal66: 114-115.

Papastylianou, 1. 1989a. Nodulation status of pea­nuts and response to introduced rhizobium in­oculants. Technical Bulletin No . 106, Agricultu­ral Research Institute. Nicosia, 6p .

Papastylianou, 1. 1989b. Effect of selected soil fac­tors on chlorosi s of peanut plants grown in calcareous soils in Cyprus. Plant and Soil 117: 290-29 4.

Papastylianou, 1. 1990. Effectiveness of iron chelates and FeS04 in correcting iron chlorosis of pea­nuts on calcareous soils. Plant and Soils (in pres s).

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