Abstract

In order to serve as a bridge species, three wild diploid species of the section Arachis viz. A.cardenasii A.durunensis and Astenosperme were crossed in all possible combinations and amphidiploids were induced from the resultant Fis. The results revealed the presence of reciprocal differences in the crossability of the different species. Cytological studies in Fis of diploid species indicated the presence of genomic similarities while in the hybrids between the A.hypogaca cultivars and theamphidiploids showed the presence of not only intragenomic pairing but also high degree of intergenomic pairing. The studies resulted in the identification of A.hypogaea like derivatives possessing rust resistance.

Keywords: Arachis, Genetic Improvement, Synthetic Amphidiploids