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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Tifton, Georgia » Crop Genetics and Breeding Research » Research » Research Project #445823

Research Project: Development of Peanut Cultivars with Resistance to Diseases and Improved Water Use Efficiency

Location: Crop Genetics and Breeding Research

Project Number: 6048-21000-031-011-R
Project Type: Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Jan 1, 2024
End Date: Jun 30, 2025

Objective:
1) Develop high-yielding, peanut lines with high levels of resistance to the peanut root-knot nematode and/or late leaf spot. 2) Conduct marker assisted breeding for resistance to white mold and TSWV. 3) Develop drought tolerant peanut germplasm with high yield. 4) Develop breeding lines with normal O/L ratio and disease resistance.

Approach:
1) Crosses have been made and MAS is being used to identify high yielding breeding lines with resistance to the peanut root-knot nematode. An accelerated backcrossing program is ongoing using MAS to integrate resistance to late leaf spot into our best cultivars and breeding lines. We have completed three rounds of backcrosses using several elite breeding lines and cultivars. For the past three years we have been mining promising individuals from the segregating populations from the original cross, and the first, second, and third backcrosses. We are advancing this material as fast as possible using summer and winter nurseries. As late generation breeding lines are developed, they are being evaluated for yield and disease resistance in replicated field studies. 2) Phenotypic and genotypic data were gathered from a population segregating for resistance to white mold. Data analysis identified two QTL regions controlling white mold resistance. Additional crosses have been made to produce segregating breeding populations. MAS will be used to select for white mold resistance. 3) Crosses have been made and progeny will be selected for drought tolerance. Late generation breeding lines will be grown under late season heat and drought stress and evaluated for yield and pre-harvest aflatoxin contamination. 4) MAS will be used in segregating populations to identify breeding line with normal O/L ratio and disease resistance.