The objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic divergence of forage peanut in relation to agronomic and chemical traits in both rainy and dry seasons. This experiment was conducted with genotypes from the Forage Peanut Active Germoplasm Bank located in Embrapa Acre. Eighteen genotypes of forage peanut were used: 12 genotypes of A. pintoi, four genotypes of the A. repens species and two interspecific hybrids of A. pintoi × A. repens. The design was of randomized blocks with five replicates. All traits were submitted to analyses of variance and later, study of genetic divergence was done through multivariate analysis techniques, in which the Tocher's optimization method and the nearest neighbor method were used. Dissimilarity measure used in cluster analysis was the generalized distance of Mahalanobis. No pattern was found in the cluster based on species used, according to the results. There is genetic variability for all traits except neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, hemicellulose and lignin in the rainy season and for pests in the dry season. The traits which presented most relative contribution in the study of genetic divergence of forage peanut were flowering, dry matter yield and average height in the rainy season and crude protein and average height in the dry season. The established cluster may help the breeder to choose parents and crossings to be selected in forage peanut breeding programs.
Arachis; genetic improvement; multivariate analysis; Tocher's optimization
