Genotype × Environment Studies on Resistance to Late Leaf Spot Disease and Pod Yield and Identification of Stable Recombinant Inbred Lines in Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Background: Groundnut being one of the important leguminous oilseed crops, the objective of groundnut breeding lies in development disease resistance cultivars with higher productivity. Late leaf spot (LLS) disease is one of the most devastating disease in groundnut. Therefore, identification of resistant genotypes is of prime importance in resistance breeding. Methods: Present investigation was carried out to identify stable Recombinant Inbred Lines (RILs) resistant to LLS disease in 94 RIL mapping population that was developed from the cross TMV 2 × GPBD 4 using site regression analysis (GGE biplot). RILs were evaluated during kharif 2022 under three environments and were evaluated for LLS disease reaction, pod yield and its related traits. Result: Pooled ANOVA recorded significant variation among RILs (genotypic difference) and also significant environment and genotype × environment (G × E) interaction effects at p less than 0.001 for PDI at all the intervals and also for pod yield under disease pressure and disease-free condition. GGE biplot analysis reported stable RILs resistant to LLS across three locations. In comparison with parents and checks, 10 superior RILs were identified that were resistant to LLS disease across three locations. Stable RILs identified across the environments in the current study can be farther evaluated for resistance reaction and can be released after evaluation using a popular national check for comparison and also can be used in development of resistant groundnut cultivars for LLS disease with high pod yield.