Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is one ofthe premier oilseed crops ofthe world with export potential. Aflatoxin contamination of groundnut caused by Aspergillus flavus is a widespread serious problem in most groundnut-producing countries where the crop is grown under rain-fed conditions which adversely affects health of consumers of groundnut and its products. The marketability of contaminated produce, particularly in international trade is diminished to nil due to stringent standards of permissible limits on aflatoxin contamination set by the importing countries. Alleviation of aflatoxin contamination through genetic manipulation has been attempted in many groundnut producing countries. Breeding resistant cultivars is possible only when there are sources with stable, high levels of resistance to different mechanisms are available. Therefore, efforts to identify resistant genotypes would make other measu res more effective. In the present investigation 10 cultivars, 34 germ plasm accessions and 25 advanced breeding lines were screened by following spore spray and pin prick method. In spore spray method, six genotypes showed moderately resistant reaction (ICG-1122, ICG-2857, ICG-3336, ICG-7633, ICG-14985 and ICGV-02266), twenty one showed susceptible reaction and 42 showed highly susceptible reaction. While in pin prick method, only ICGV-02266 showed moderate resistant reaction and the remaining genotypes (68) showed a highly susceptible reaction. ICGV-02266 recorded moderate degree of resistance in both the methods of screening and showed both seed coat and cotyledon resistance, indicating the scope for its utility in aflatoxin resistance breeding in groundnut
