EVALUATION OF GROWTH, DEVELOPMENTAND YIELD OF TWENTY VARIETIES OF BAMBARA NUT (Vigna subterranean (L.) Verdc.)

ABSTRACT

Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranean (L.) Verdc) is a member of the family Fabaceae. It is a legume indigenous to Africa and is cultivated across the semi-arid sub-Sahara Africa region. The cultivars of Bambara groundnut have distinct differences in seed characteristics ranging from cream through brown, maroon to black with variation in seed color, sizes and seed thickness. This study evaluated the growth, development and yield of twenty landrace of Bambara groundnut. Experiment was conducted at the screen house in AGR305 farm, at the faculty of Agriculture, University of Benin (UNIBEN), Benin City, Nigeria. Completely randomized design with three replications and twenty Bambara landrace a treatment was used in the study. The results of the experiment indicated that among the Bambara landraces, Gwagwalada 04 showed the tallest height at 40 days after sowing (DAS), while Iddo Amac 02 and Abaji 01, produced the heaviest pod yield at (100 DAS) and therefore recommended to Bambara farmers for cultivation.