PATH ANALYSIS AND PRELIMINARY YIELD TRIALS OF BAMBARA GROUNDNUT (Vigna subterranean L. Verdc.) IN MADURA DRY LAND, INDONESIA

The development of promising bambara groundnut cultivars through the selection of local land races was initiated a decade ago in various regions of Indonesia. The preliminary trials of the potential lines that provide a sustainable base should be carried out before a cultivar is finally released. This research aimed to evaluate the performance of the selected potential lines of bambara groundnut during July 2019 to December 2019 in farmers' fields and outside the central area for bambara groundnut cultivation in Madura (Desa Bandungan, Pakong Sub-District of Pamekasan Regency), Madura Island, Indonesia. This study was performed with eight potential lines and two local lines by using a randomized complete block design and three replications. Results revealed significant genetic variability among the genotypes. When grown outside the central area of bambara groundnut cultivation, the highest yielding potential line was GSG 1.1.1 from Gresik Regency and BBL 2.1.1 and BBL 6.1.1 selected from Lamongan Regency, Indonesia. Path coefficient analysis revealed that four characters had a positive direct effect on the pod weight yield of bambara groundnut, i.e., the number of internodes, length of the leaves, width of the leaves, and weight of the wet stover. However, only three morphological characters, i.e., leaf length, leaf width, and wet stover weight, were found to be highly effective for selection of high-yielding bambara groundnut genotypes. These traits are suggested to be considered as selection criteria in improving the seed yield of bambara groundnut.