Macauley A. Ittah, Department of Crop science, Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Wildlife Resources Management, University of Calabar, PMB 1115, Calabar, Nigeria

Walter B. Binang, Department of Crop science, Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Wildlife Resources Management, University of Calabar, PMB 1115, Calabar, Nigeria

John O. Shiyam, Department of Crop science, Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Wildlife Resources Management, University of Calabar, PMB 1115, Calabar, Nigeria

Paul O. Idu, Department of Crop science, Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Wildlife Resources Management, University of Calabar, PMB 1115, Calabar, Nigeria

Abstract
The experiment analyzed the genetic variation in morphological traits in x - ray irradiated groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) to assess adaptation to humid environment. Seeds of four soybean varieties; MS – 54 – 76, ICGV – SM – 42, RMP – 12 and SAMNUT 21, were exposed to six levels of x - ray irradiation; 0, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 KV at the rate of 28 mili Ampere per seconds. The experiment was laid out in split plot design, in three replicates. There were increases in the 100 seed weight, number of pods per plant, weight of pods per plant, weight of seeds per plant and shelling percentage in M2 than in the M1 implying that x – ray created beneficial variation in the cultivars. The x – rays also reduced the number of days to maturity and number of days to flowering in M2. Phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) was higher than the genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) in all traits. Moderate to high heritability and genetic advance estimates were obtained for most traits. Number of branches per plant, seed weight per pod and number of pods per plant were significantly and positively associated with grain yield per hectare. The high range of the genetic components among the traits and positive correlation coefficient indicates that pedigree selection should be used to improve on the traits. By virtue of performance in the humid environment, MS54-76 and RMP 12 were best adapted to the humid ecology.

Keywords
Mutation breeding, Mutant varieties, Mutagenesis, Arachis hypogaea L., x – ray irradiation

Cite this paper
Macauley A. Ittah, Walter B. Binang, John O. Shiyam, Paul O. Idu, Genetic and correlation analyses of the variation in yield traits in x - ray irradiated groundnut mutants , SCIREA Journal of Agriculture. Volume 1, Issue 1, October 2016 | PP. 66-78.

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