A new promising early maturing groundnut(Arachis hypogaea L.) accession (KCGN -1) suitable for dry and intermediate zone of Sri Lanka

A considerable number of farmers in northern region in Sri Lanka still prefer to cultivate the groundnut land race Mullaithivu local because of its taste and ability to maintain in poor management condition under rain fed farming. Five lines were developed and purified from stocks of this cultivar collected from Mullaitivu (MU) and Muthaiyankattu (MUK). These lines were selected based on the pod shape, peak at the distal end of the legumes, and the presence of two seeds per pod. Selected lines were tested in Preliminary Yield Trial (PYT) and in National Coordinated Variety Testing trials (NCVT), with the recommended varieties Indi and Tikiri as controls. Farmer field performances at the latest stages were compared with that of farmer’s preferred recommended variety Tissa. Recommended package of practices and standard plot size (1.8 x 3 m) were adopted in all experiments in all locations. KCGN-012-1 has given the highest yield with overall rank of 2 and 1 during NCVT trials in 2014/15 Maha and 2015/16 Maha respectively. It also has given rank 1 and highest average yield (3.9 t/ha) under Variety Adaptability Trial (VAT) conducted in five locations. It also showed preferred nutritional quality and acceptable taste as a table variety. Thus a short duration high yielding table purpose variety KCGN-01 (KCGN-012-1) was developed at Kilinochchi and it is suitable for cultivation in dry and intermediate zones of Sri Lanka.