Groundnut variety tolerant to drought and foliar fungal disease with superior haulm quality released in Odisha, India

After a gap of 14 years, Odisha state in India officially released a new groundnut variety ‘Kalinga Groundnut-101’ as an alternative to ‘Devi’, the ruling variety. Both the varieties are of ICRISAT origin. The new variety has a pod yield and kernel yield advantage of 12.1 % and 20.7% respectively. It is tolerant to drought, foliar fungal diseases, late leaf spot and rust. Studies show that the superior haulm quality has the potential to increase milk yield in cattle by 11%.

New groundnut variety ‘Kalinga Groundnut-101’ (ICGV 02266) released in Odisha state of India. Photo: D Deshmukh, ICRISAT

Kalinga Groundnut-101 (ICGV 02266) was released by the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) at the State Varietal Release Committee (SVRC) meeting held in Bhubaneshwar on 9 Aug 2021. The state releases its own groundnut variety after 14 years. It released Devi (ICGV 91114) in 2007, which is now a popular variety in the state.

Kalinga Groundnut-101 is suitable for cultivation under residual soil moisture in post-rainy season, irrigated conditions of summer season, and can be grown in rainfed uplands during rainy season for the State of Odisha.  In the national-level All India Co-ordinated Research Project on Groundnut (AICRP-G) testing, the mean pod yield ranged from 2,234 to 4,167 kg/ha with a kernel yield of 1,616 to 2,979 kg/ha. The advantage over national check TAG 24 with pod yield and kernel yield is 34.5-45 %.  It is a medium duration variety maturing in 125-131 days in post-rainy season.

For on-farm testing, 45 “minikit” traits were conducted at Bargarh, Bolangir, Kalahandi and Ganjam districts of Odisha during the rainy season (minikits are on-farm trials, given by universities or government agencies to introduce or popularize the new variety). In these trials, Kalinga Groundnut-101 recorded a mean pod yield of 1,726 kg/ha. The pod yield range across the 45 minikits is 1,450-2,120 kg/ha)

The justification at the State Varietal Release Committee meeting for the release of Kalinga Groundnut-101 is as follows:

• It is a suitable replacement for “Devi”, the ruling variety in the state, due to pod yield and kernel yield advantage of 12.1 % and 20.7% respectively

• Tolerant to drought and foliar fungal diseases, late leaf spot and rust

• Shelling outturn of 72% and kernel oil content of 50%

• Medium-bold elongated kernels with light tan testa having 100 kernel weight of 46 gram

• The leaves remain green up to harvest and fodder quality is good so it can be used to supplement cereal fodder (dual-purpose variety). The In Vitro Organic Matter Digestibility (IVOMD) is 65.2, similar to Devi variety (ICGV 91114).

Groundnut haulms are considered valuable for livestock in Asia and Africa. Research by ICRISAT and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) has confirmed that one of the most important drivers for adoption is its contribution to milk production – on-farm trials showed cattle fed on ICGV91114 fodder gave an average of 11% more milk per day than those fed fodder from local cultivars. Yet another study at ILRI showed, the weight gain in sheep for different groundnut cultivars varied from 65 to 137 g/day indicating the value of groundnut fodder quality on livestock productivity.

Dr Janila Pasupuleti, Principal Scientist (Groundnut Breeding) and Flagship Leader of CRP-Grain Legumes and Dryland Cereals (CRP-GLDC) noted that the collaborative work between ICRISAT and ILRI resulted in identification of groundnut lines with better haulm quality. The haulm quality assessment is now streamlined in breeding pipelines of ICRISAT’s mandate crops with the joint efforts of the two CRPs GLDC and Livestock.

Read more about our research on groundnut on EXPLOREit