A Physiological Analysis of the Branching Pattern in Sequential Types of Groundnut in Relation to the Fruiting Nodes and the Total Mature Pods Produced

The branching pattern of eight sequential branching types ofgroundnut was studied and the contribution of each node (fruitingpoint) of the n, n+1 and n+2 branches (if present) to the totalnumber of mature pods per plant ascertained. The results indicatedthat n+2 branches were present in several varieties and theircontribution to mature pods was significant in some of them.The first three nodes of the n+1 branches contributed from 50.6per cent (in a variety which had significantly more n+2 branches)to 88 per cent in other varieties. The results also indicatedthat the contribution of the late formed n+1 branches was lowand the total mature pods produced from all nodes decreasedwith each successive (chronologically) n+1 branch in all thevarieties studied. Neither the total number of n+1 branchesnor the number of mature pods per node was related to the podnumber or pod yield, but the total number of fruiting pointsfrom all branches showed a high correlation with pod yield andmature pod number at harvest. The results suggest that for higherpod yield it may be desirable to have only a few n+1 branches(4 or 5) but with more fruiting points on each branch. Arachis hypogaea, branching pattern, sequential types, fruiting points