Abstract
Breeding early-maturing cultivars is an important objective of many peanut breeding programs in the world. Most programs use subjective maturity determination methods in selection for earliness. This paper describes a procedure developed at ICRISAT to select early-maturing, high-yielding peanut cultivars based on thermal time accumulation by the crop. In this procedure, cultivars were harvested when the crop was exposed to a predetermined cumulative thermal time (CTT), and selections were made for high yield with acceptable levels of maturity-related traits in a no-stress environment. The predetermined CTT values used in selection for early-maturity represented a 20-day shorter crop duration than for the medium-maturing lines. Based on a 13-year meteorological record, the two predetermined CTTs, (1240 and 1470° Cd (degree-days) equate to 75- and 90-day durations, respectively, at ICRISAT Center, Patancheru, India in the rainy season (mid June to mid October). It is expected that this procedure could prove useful in peanut breeding to select for earliness.
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Keywords: Growing season, early-maturity, heat units, breeding, Cultivars, Groundnut, degree-days, Arachis hypogaea L
How to Cite:
Rao, M. & Nigam, S. & Huda, A., (1992) “The Thermal Time Concept as a Selection Criterion for Earliness in Peanut¹”, Peanut Science 19(1), p.7-10. doi: https://doi.org/10.3146/i0095-3679-19-1-2