Abstract
In groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.), it is presumed that stem-system has no substantial mechanical role in supporting the pods. In order to assess whether a reduced partitioning of dry matter to stems (includes petioles) is associated with an increased seed yield, a 3-year field trial was conducted using 27 cultivars (cvs.). In this study, correlations between seed yield and major agro-physiological characteristics, including yield components and botanical groups of the cvs. were analyzed. It was concluded that seed yields above 3000 kg ha-1 in cvs., including Japanese Norin cvs., developed by inter-subspecific hybridization, were associated with high seed/stem ratio (2∼3), harvest index (30∼40%), by decrease of the number of branches and large seed size (above 70 g/100-seed weight). A further analysis indicated that these cvs. were early in flowering and maturation and erect in growth habit. Based on these results, a contribution of subsp. fastigiata to increase seed yield was noted and the characteristics of a groundnut ideotype were proposed.
