Inheritance of fatty acid content and related quality traits in groundnut, Arachis hypogaea L

Groundnut is a rich source of edible oil. The fatty acid composition of the endogenous fats plays an important role in determining the shelf life, nutrition and flavor of groundnut. Gene action involved in the fatty acid composition (palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, arachidic acid, eicosenoic acid, behenic acid and lignoceric acid) and quality parameters (Oleic/linoleic fatty acid ratio (0/L ratio), iodine value (IV), total saturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated / saturated fatty acid ratio (P/S)) and total long chain saturated fatty acids (TLCSFA)) were studied in three crosses in groundnut. Generation means analysis for all the traits indicated that additive and additive x additive gene actions played predominant role in controlling the fatty acid content and quality parameters. In addition to additive and additive x additive gene actions, dominance and additive x dominance gene action were also important in explaining variation for IV and P/S ratio. The choice of a suitable breeding procedure depends upon the relative magnitude of different gene effects and an understanding of the mode of inheritance of some complex quantitative characters. The additive and additive x additive components of genetic variation are fixable in groundnut. Oleic acid content, 0/L ratio and IVare predominantly under the control of additive gene action; hence selection for these traits can be practiced in early generations

R Aruna, S N Nigam, 'Inheritance of fatty acid content and related quality traits in groundnut, Arachis hypogaea L', Journal of Oilseeds Research, vol. 26(1), pp.10-17, Indian Society of Oilseeds Research, 2011