Evaluation of the agronomic performance of six varieties of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in the St. Felix community of the Coroico township (Nor Yungas-La Paz)

• Main Author: Marleni Quisbert, Viviana
• Format: Others
• Published: BYU ScholarsArchive 2005
• Subjects: Peanuts; varieties; Bolivia; Agronomy and Crop Sciences; Life Sciences
• Online Access: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/5399; https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6398&context=etd

The peanut is an important crop in most countries due to its industrial, nutritional, and pedological potential. It grows well in subtropical areas. This study was planned based on the weather characteristics of the Yungas and the St. Felix community. A completely randomized block design with 6 treatments and 3 repetitions was used. An analysis of variance and a Tukey test were used for statistical analysis of the variables. With respect to time required for maturation, the Coloradito Palmar variety was most premature with a time of 134 days while the Local variety took 177 days to mature, which is considered late. With respect to plant height during the different stages (establishment, vegetative, flowering, fructification, and maturation), the Local variety grew the most with a value of 64.23 cm during physiological maturity. The Local variety also had the largest number of pods per plant with a value of 49.50. On the other hand, the Coloradito Palmar variety had the lowest value with 17.07. The largest number of grains per pod was reached by the Coloradito Palmar variety with a value of 2.35 and the smallest number was reached by the Colorado Gigante variety with a value of 1.66. The Overo Gigante variety had the largest values for pod and grain weight with 4.54 g and 1.77 g respectively. The smallest pod weight was obtained by the Coloradito Palmar variety with a value of 2.47 g while the smallest grain weight was obtained by the Local variety with a value of 0.78 g. With respect to pod length, the Colorado Gigante variety was longest at 4.25 cm and the Virginia variety was shortest with a measurement of 3.27 cm. The varieties that had the largest seed or grain size were Colorado Gigante and Overo Gigante with a size of 2.04 cm while the Coloradito Palmar variety had the smallest measurement of only 1.52 cm. Furthermore, the Virginia variety had the highest yield at 2.89 t/ha and the Coloradito Palmar variety had the lowest at 0.71 t/ha. After analysis, the total cost of production for each variety is 8,620 Bolivianos/hectare. The analysis of the cost-benefit ratio showed that only the Virginia (1.58) and Local (1.30) varieties would be profitable due to their higher yields. Thus, these varieties can be considered as an economic alternative for farmers in the area.