Abstract

Development of drought resilient groundnut varieties is pertinent to mitigating the effects of climate change. This study was conducted to determine the genetic diversity of groundnut genotypes for drought-related traits and to assess the association among agronomic and drought-related traits. One hundred and sixty-nine groundnut lines were evaluated under water stress and well-watered conditions at two locations for two years. The trial was laid out using 13 x 13 alpha lattice design with two replications. Data were collected on specific leaf areas, SCMR, pod yield, haulm yield, biomass, harvest index and drought tolerance index of pod yield. Data collected was analysed using R statistical software. The best linear unbiased predictions (BLUPs) and variance components were estimated using the linear mixed model. The association between agronomic and drought-related traits was assessed using Pearson’s correlation. Significant genetic differences (p < 0.05) were observed for agronomic and drought-related traits among the groundnut genotypes with 20% of the genotypes identified as drought tolerant indicating that progress can be made from selections for improvement of drought tolerance. There was significant positive correlation of pod yield with SCMR (0.44**), harvest index (0.72**) and drought tolerance index of pod yield (0.17*) under water stress indicating that selecting for the improvement of these traits would improve pod yield. The findings from this research suggest the existence of genetic variability and presence of significant association between pod yield and drought-related traits to enhance identification of superior drought tolerant genotypes to mitigate the effects of drought.