Abstract
Bambara groundnut is an underutilized neglected leguminous crop with less research attention. This study was conducted to evaluate morphological traits, estimate heritability, and assess genetic variability through genotypic and phenotypic variance of 22 Bambara groundnut cultivars in the Sudan Savannah of Nigeria; using a wide range of morphological traits such as: days to germination, number of leaves, number of branches, canopy height, days to 50% flowering, days to 50% pods, leaf area index, seed color, eye color, pod texture, seed length, grain yield and yield components. The cultivars were collected from Kano State, Plateau State and IITA (Minna). The experiment was conducted at two different locations, the Teaching and Research farm of Bayero University Kano, and the Teaching and Research farm of Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology Gaya during the rainy season of 2024. The treatments were laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 3 replications. The result from the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and principal component analysis (PCA) showed substantial genetic variation among the genotypes. The principal component analysis extracted five principal components explaining 75.51% of total phenotypic variation at BUK with PC1 (23.99%) and PC2 (20.65%) contributing the most, high heritability ((h2b=0.60-0.67) with Genetic advance (GAM<40%).Whereas at GAYA, PC1 accounted for (49.9%), driven by early vegetative traits, broad sense heritability was highest for 100 seed weight (h2b=0.82), indicating strong genetic control and Genetic advance of (46.92%). High phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation were recorded for yield, 100 seed weight and number of seed per pod. Broad sense heritability was high for 100-seed weight (0.67 at BUK, 0.82 at GAYA), pod length (0.51-0.58), and single seed weight (0.62-0.59).The PCA vector revealed those with longer vectors in BUK (pod width, seed weight, seed yield kg/ha, pod length, number of seed per pod), and at GAYA (pod length, pod width, single seed weight, number of seed per pod, 100 seed weight) as more contributing to the total variations observed. The analysis revealed significant variation among the cultivars across most traits indicating a broad genetic base. Traits such as 100 seed weight, single seed weight, and number of seeds per pod exhibited high heritability and genetic advance making them reliable targets for selection. These findings highlight the potential for effective selection of superior parental lines for Bambara groundnut improvement.