Bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) is an important production constraint
production of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in some countries of Asia including Indonesia. Seventeen
wilt resistant lines, including 11 breeding lines, developed from the germplasm obtained from International
Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), five improved cultivars, and a susceptible
check cultivar (i.e., MLGG 0627) were tested for their pod yield and stability of resistance to bacterial wilt
in five bacterial wilt endemic areas in Indonesia. The plant wilt intensity across all locations was high on the
susceptible check cultivar, indicating severe incidence of the disease. Among the improved cultivars, only
Gajah exhibited resistance to the disease and its resistance was stable across locations, whereas the other five
improved cultivars were susceptible to the disease. Eight out of the 11 breeding lines were highly resistant
to this bacterial wilt, comparable or even higher than Gajah’s resistant level. All the resistant gentotypes
produced average pod yield of 2.23 t ha–1, ranging from 1.01 to 3.28 t ha–1 , which was higher compared to
pod yield of the susceptible lines. Only two breeding lines (i.e., ChiIc-8 and LPTr-12) exhibited high yield
potential (i.e., >3.0 t ha−1). Average pod yield of susceptible genotypes ranged from 0.09 to 2.5 t ha–1 (mean,
0.87 t ha-1)
