Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Tifton, Georgia » Southeast Watershed Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #178023
Title: MEASURING CANOPY REFLECTANCE TO IMPROVE THE DEVELOPMENT OF DROUGHT RESISTANCE IN PEANUTS

Author
item Sullivan, Dana
item Holbrook, Carl - Corley
item KVIEN, CRAIG - NESPAL

Submitted to: Georgia Peanut Research Extension Report
Publication Type: Experiment Station
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/3/2005
Publication Date: 3/3/2005
Citation: Sullivan, D.G., Holbrook Jr, C.C., Kvien, C. 2005. Measuring canopy reflectance to improve the development of drought resistance in peanuts. UGA-CPES Extension Publication No. -2005. University of Georgia College of Agruculture and Environmental Sciences and the U.S.Department of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating, Dawson, GA. Extension Report.

Interpretive Summary: Sources of improved drought tolerance have been identified and entered into a hybridization program where they are crossed with high yielding cultivars and breeding lines to combine drought tolerance with acceptable yield and grade. These breeding populations are being evaluated based on a visual rating of wilting and on pod yield from small drought stressed plots. We have used this selection system to identify lines with relatively high yield under drought stress conditions, however, our breeding progress would be accelerated if we could more accurately assess genetic differences in drought tolerance. A new method proposed in this study will utilize differences in the amount of light (red, green, blue and near-infrared) reflected by a crop canopy to quantify crop response to drought conditions. Quantifying crop response in this way shows great promise as a rapid and quantitative selection tool for high yielding, drought tolerant, peanut genotypes.

Technical Abstract: Sources of improved drought tolerance have been identified and entered into a hybridization program where they are crossed with high yielding cultivars and breeding lines to combine drought tolerance with acceptable yield and grade. These breeding populations are being evaluated based on a visual rating of wilting and on pod yield from small drought stressed plots. We have used this selection system to identify lines with relatively high yield under drought stress conditions, however, our breeding progress would be accelerated if we could more accurately assess genetic differences in drought tolerance. A new method proposed in this study will utilize differences in the amount of light (red, green, blue and near-infrared) reflected by a crop canopy to quantify crop response to drought conditions. Quantifying crop response in this way shows great promise as a rapid and quantitative selection tool for high yielding, drought tolerant, peanut genotypes.