Efficiency of nitrogenase activity and nodule mass in predicting the relative performance of genotypes assessed by a number of characters in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Abstract

Twenty one genotypes belonging to Spanish, Valencia and Virginia groups of groundnut were studied at Patancheru and a further seventeen at Delhi. Their relative performance based on a large number of characters spanning the entire growth phase was assessed. Nitrogenase activity and nodule mass were measured at three stages of crop growth starting from first flowering, and these two characters alone when measured at 30 days after flowering closely matched the measure of relative performance based on the entire set of characters.