Groundnut ( Arachis hypogaea L.) is one of the world’s most important legumes, both in subsistence and commercial agriculture in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Global warming, an increasing threat, is expected to increase the water scarcity in the environment, affecting plant growth and metabolism. Groundnut yield in rain-fed areas has been limited by drought stress because pod yield and other growth parameters have been severely affected. Twenty five groundnut genotypes including four local checks (B-4, Rajashri, Baidehi and Jayanti) were composed and an experiment was conducted during 2010 and 2011at the National Oilseed Research Program (NORP), Nawalpur, Sarlahi, Nepal. The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design in three replications. The objective of the study was to determine the genetic variability in different groundnut genotypes to drought tolerance. The analysis of variance indicated highly significant differences for most of plant the characters. Remarkable levels of variability have existed among the groundnut varieties that are essential in groundnut improvement. The genotypes ICGV-99171, ICGV-98089, ICGV-97100, Baidehi, ICGV-00440 and B-4 were observed better for drought tolerance with high pod yield. It is suggested that these genotypes could be grown under regions of limited rainfall and may be used as parents in breeding programmes for developing drought tolerant groundnut cultivars. Nepal Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 14, No. 1 (2013) 41-50 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126jst.v14i1.8877
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