Pod Yield Comparison of Pure-Line Peanut Selections Simultaneously Developed from Georgia and Zimbabwe Breeding Programs

Crosses were made between two widely grown U.S. peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) cultivars, ‘Florunner’ and Florigiant’, and two genotypes adapted to growing conditions on the plateau of tropical Africa, ‘Makulu Red’ and 486 GKP. F₂ seed populations were equally divided between Georgia and Zimbabwe. Subsequently, pedigree selection was practised simultaneously at both locations in the early segregating generations. The highest yielding pureline selections were then interchanged, and combined yield evaluations were determined over three growing seasons at each location. ‘Florunner’, ‘Florigiant’, and the Georgia pureline selections tested at the Georgia location had significantly higher pod yields than ‘Makulu Red’, 486 GKP, and the Zimbabwe selections. Conversely, the mean yield of the Zimbabwe selections tested m Zimbabwe was significantly higher than that of the Georgia selections. Thus, the breeding environment under which selection is conducted among cross populations strongly influences the yield adaptability of selected peanut genotypes.