Influence of inoculation and phosphorus fertilizer application on phenology, yield components and grain yield of bambara groundnut genotypes.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the parasitic is seriously threatening Bambara groundnuts, farmers to suffer yield losses of up to 100 %. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of phosphorus (P) application and inoculation on Bambara groundnut genotypes for growth and reproductive phrase. The experiment was conducted in 2020 at the Henderson Research Station in Mazowe, Zimbabwe in a 2 × 2 × 26 factorial design with 26 genotypes arranged in a completely randomized design (CRD) with four replications, two P rates (0 and 20 kg ha-) and two levels of inoculation (with and without ). Half of the perforated black plastic bags were inoculated with seeds. The results showed a significant (p < 0.001) interaction between P application and inoculation, leading to decreased counts after 109 days, days to maturity, days to flowering, and chlorophyll content. There was a significant (p < 0.001) interaction between Bambara groundnut genotypes and -inoculation on number of pods, pod weight, number of seeds, and grain yield. parasitism significantly (p < 0.001) decreased number of pods, pod weight, number of seeds, and grain yield across all groundnut genotypes. G2, G23, G24, and G25 genotypes exhibited tolerance to , with grain yield per plant of 4.82, 6.12, 5.65, and 5.34 g, respectively, outperforming other genotypes. It was found that the combination of 20 kg P ha with -resistant genotypes improved Bambara groundnut productivity.