Assessment of Productive Potential of Peanut Varieties (Arachis hypogaea L.) from the Bulgarian Breeding Program and Opportunities for Genetical Improvement

The study was conducted in the experimental field of IPGR Sadovo in the period 2016-2017. Three peanut varieties type Valencia from the Bulgarian breeding program: Kalina, Kremena and Tsvetelina, are morphologically assessed. The aim of the study is to establish the possibility of genetic control over indicators directly related to productivity. The influence of the variety, the impact of the climate and the growing conditions, as well as the effect of the two factors on gynophores number, the fruit number and their weight were investigated. The relations between the studied signs are clarified. The components of the variation, phenotypic and genotypic variance are evaluated. The genetic progress and the genetic progress as a percentage of the mean are defined. The results show that the conditions of the environment are the strongest sources of variation for the studied signs. The gynophores number and the fruit number per plant are in direct positive relation to the fruit weight per plant as an element of the yield. In the studied components of the yield there is no possibility for genetic control. Their manifestation depends on applied agro-technology and the meteorological conditions. The future breeding work for obtaining high-yield peanut varieties requires finding out signs indirectly related to increasing the fruit weight per plant and possessing genetic control.