Abstract

E. Godfrey Zharare, F. C. Pax Blamey and L. Colin Asher

Attached groundnut gynophores of Virginia line Virginia bunch strain 1 (VB-1), Spanish line TMV-3 and Valencia line CBBR4 were cultured singly in aerated, simplified nutrient solutions consisting of (2 µM iron (Fe) and 0.5 µM zinc (Zn) with or without 100 µM calcium (Ca). In all lines, normal and apparently healthy pods were produced in solutions containing Ca, whereas, pod growth was severely restricted in solutions without Ca. Three of CBRR4 gynophores cultured in solution containing Ca formed healthy tap roots. It was concluded that a simplified solution containing only Ca, Zn and Fe could support healthy groundnut pod growth.