Pre-harvest host-resistance to infection and aflatoxin B contaminations in groundnut ( L.) genotypes.

Groundnut ( L) is an important oil crop in the tropical and sub-tropical countries. Pod and seed coat crack-inducing factors favour species infections and aflatoxin B (AFB) contamination of groundnut. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB), a toxic secondary metabolite of species, remains a global concern due to its human and animal health, and economic impacts. Thus, the study was conducted at Babile in 2018 with the objective to identify groundnut genotypes resistant to pre-harvest fungal infections, aflatoxin contaminations and associated effects in crop physiology. Seventeen advanced groundnut breeding lines including one commercial cultivar (Werer-961), were evaluated using randomized complete block design and completely randomized design under field and with four replications for laboratory experiments, respectively. Aflatoxin B analysis was carried out using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) kits. Appropriate statistical procedures, including regression, were employed for data analyses. Highly significant (p<0.01) variation existed among the genotypes for and infections, and the AFB contamination ranged from 13.98 (G14) to 1990.86 ppb (G12). The more infection, the more reduction in harvest yield and seedling vigour. Fortunately, 53 % of the test materials were found to be resistant to AFB production, and frighteningly, none of the AFB contaminated genotypes were within the acceptable limit of the lenient standard (10 ppb). All in all, the groundnut genotype (G4) was identified as a good source of pre-harvest resistance to infection, AFB1 contamination and seedling vigour so that its inclusion in breeding programs is worthwhile utmost, specifically, in the test environment as pathogen-crop-environment interaction is natural. Since the experiment was employed at one location and for only one year, it is suggested to repeat the experiment across multiple locations and over seasons for reliable recommendation.