The genus Arachis has 69 species, the majority native to Brazil. Arachis spp. seedling root tips have been used to obtain dividing cells for cytological preparations. Several wild species produce small amounts of seeds and consequently few root meristems, making the cytogenetic characterization very difficult. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the rooting capacity of several wild species of Arachis using the detached leaves technique for obtaining roots from petioles. One hundred and thirty accessions and 27 interspecific hybrids were studied. Three evaluations were performed at 15, 31, and 49 days after planting. Leaf rooting observed in the wild species confirmed the great genetic variability typical of the Arachis genus, indicating that the number of days interferes with the rooting percentage. The Arachis Section presented the highest rate of rooting leaves. The Caulorrhizae Section showed the same pattern observed in the Erectoides Section. Accessions from Heteranthae, Trierectoides, Extranervosae, and Rhizomatosae Sections did not differ among each other. Differences were not observed in Erectoides Section when compared to Rhizomatosae and Extranervosae Sections. The number and morphology of roots obtained through this technique were promising to be used on cytological preparations.
cytology; germplasm
