Determining the type of gene action(s) involved in the genetic control of drought-tolerance and yield-associated traits of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) using generation mean and variance analysis of parental, F1 and the segregating populations (backcro

Abstract

In Northern Ghana, groundnut production is severely impacted by drought stress. To create better cultivars, it is essential to understand the genetic processes determining drought tolerance. The objective of this study was to use generation mean and variance analysis to identify the gene activities responsible for regulating drought tolerance characteristics associated with groundnut growth and yield. Determining out how additive, dominance, and epistatic effects contributed to these features was the main goal of the study. In order to assess characteristics like days to maturity, biomass yield, pod yield, seed yield, harvest index, and others, the study examined a number of groundnut populations under well-watered (WW) and water-stressed (WS) conditions. Results showed that yield attributes and drought tolerance are highly influenced by both additive and non-additive gene activities. While epistatic interactions were significant for variables like days to maturity and harvest index, dominance effects were notably essential in determining yield and its components. High estimates of narrow-sense heritability were found for characteristics like dry biomass weight (96%) and number of seeds per plot (89%), which suggests strong additive genetic control. On the other hand, qualities with high broad-sense heritability (78% and 98%, respectively) and low narrow-sense heritability (78% and 12%, respectively) revealed significant non-additive genetic variance. The Chinese x Ndogba crossed F1 and F2 plants showed remarkable adaptability, according to the drought tolerance index (DTI), which indicated strong drought tolerance in particular generations.