ISSN 2375-1185
African Journal of Agronomy ISSN 2375-1177 Vol. 8 (9), pp. 001-004, September, 2020. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Some observations on the culture of attached groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) gynophores in simplified nutrient solutions
E. Godfrey Zharare1*, F. C. Pax Blamey2 and L. Colin Asher2
1Department of Agriculture, University of Zululand, South Africa.
2School of Land, Crop and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Australia.
Accepted 08 May, 2020
Abstract
Attached groundnut gynophores of Virginia line Virginia bunch strain 1 (VB-1), Spanish line TMV-3 and Valencia line CBBR4 were cultured singly in aerated, simplified nutrient solutions consisting of (2 µM iron (Fe) and 0.5 µM zinc (Zn) with or without 100 µM calcium (Ca). In all lines, normal and apparently healthy pods were produced in solutions containing Ca, whereas, pod growth was severely restricted in solutions without Ca. Three of CBRR4 gynophores cultured in solution containing Ca formed healthy tap roots. It was concluded that a simplified solution containing only Ca, Zn and Fe could support healthy groundnut pod growth.
Key words: Arachis hypogeae, groundnut gynophore, pod development, root formation, solution culture.