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Rhizobia inoculation with effective strains is an environmentally friendly approach for enhancing nodulation and yield of legumes. To obtain an ideal strain for inoculant production, the strain's performance must be matched to the environmental conditions. A 2 × 9 cross-factorial experiment laid in a randomized complete block design with three replications on farmers' fields in the northern part of Ghana was set up to evaluate the rhizobia's performance. The factors were groundnut varieties (Chinese and Samnut 22) and nine strains consisting of five native rhizobia (KNUST 1001, 1002, 1003, 1032, and 1031), two commercial strains (Biofix and BR3267), and a positive (N+) and absolute control (N–). In addition, the population of the strains was assessed after a cropping season. The strains' performance on groundnut was location and variety dependent. At Cheshegu, KNUST 1031 and 1002 significantly increased seed yield of the Chinese variety compared to other strains; however, KNUST 1031 elicited a 24% yield increase while KNUST 1002 caused a 16% yield increase over the control. Strain KNUST 1031 increased the seed yield of the Chinese variety by 24% while KNUST 1002 increased the seed yield of Samnut by 16%. Only KNUST 1002 elicited a significant seed yield increase in Samnut 22 at Cheshegu. At Binduri, strain KNUST 1003 significantly increased the seed yield of the Chinese variety by 35% relative to the control. Samnut 22 did not show a clear preference for any of the strains. The Chinese variety did not show a clear response to the strains at Tanina. However, Samnut 22 responded to KNUST 1002 as it increased seed …