RA 00183.pdf - OAR@ICRISAT

Results of Groundnut Breeding in the Central
and Northern Regions of Burkina Faso
Z. Bertin, S. Traore, and J. Gautreau 1
Introduction
In the central and northern regions of Burkina Faso and more specifically in the Sudanian-
Sahelian region, drought is caused not only by much shorter rainy seasons, but also by the
frequency of more on less long dry spells during the rainy season. The establishment of
groundnut varieties which have less than a 90-day growing period is examined in this paper.
Main Results
Very Early Varieties
Research was carried out on 75- to 80-day varieties in order to maintain groundnut cultivation
in the central region and to extend it in the north of the country. Among the five varieties
which are compared to TS 32-1 in three areas, three stood out as regards their yields per
hectare, estimated at 113% to 115% of the control, and maturity rates estimated at 106% to
109% of the control. On the other hand, the seed size is disappointingly small.
Confectionery Groundnuts
The aim of the study on confectionery groundnuts is to create well proportioned large-seed
Spanish varieties. On the whole, the varieties under trial produced more pods per hectare
than the control variety QH 243C. Yields recorded in the areas under study were very similar
to each other, e.g., at Gampela, yields were approximately 1.7 t ha -1 and at Saria 2.7 t ha - 1 .
Five out of 7 varieties are on average 2 0 % better than the control variety. The mass of the
very densely clustered seeds is slightly low (35 g per 100 seeds; control 37 g per 100 seeds).
Edible Groundnuts
In the edible groundnut category, six varieties of the large-seeded, marketable AHK 87
series are available. The varieties under trail are statistically equivalent to the control CN 94C
1. Attache de recherche; Attache de recherche; Ingenieur Agronome, Institut d'Etudes et de Recherches Agricoles
(INERA), 03 B.P. 7192, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Citation: ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics). 1991. Summary Proceedings of
the Second ICRISAT Regional Groundnut Meeting for West Africa, 11-14 Sep 1990, ICRISAT Sahelian Center,
Niamey, Niger. Patancheru, A.P. 502 324, India: ICRISAT.
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