Disease evaluations and agronomic traits of advanced peanut breeding lines in 2020

Authors: Bennett, Rebecca; Chamberlin, Kelly

Submitted to: Peanut Research at Oklahoma State University
Publication Type: Experiment Station
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/20/2021
Publication Date: 6/4/2021
Citation: Bennett, R., Chamberlin, K.D. 2021. Disease evaluations and agronomic traits of advanced peanut breeding lines in 2020. Peanut Research at Oklahoma State University. Available:https://agresearch.okstate.edu/research/peanut-report/disease-evaluations-and-agronomic-traits-of-advanced-peanut-breeding-lines-in-2020.html.

Interpretive Summary: Sustainability of the Southwest peanut industry depends on the continuous improvement of locally adapted cultivars. Peanut cultivars developed in other production areas may also be grown successfully in the Southwest, but their susceptibility to local diseases is often unknown. Therefore, disease evaluations of advanced peanut breeding lines are conducted annually to compare the agronomic traits (crop value, yield, seed grade and characteristics) and disease resistance to cultivars that are currently available or close to being released for the Southwest. In 2020, a total of 34 commercial cultivars and high-oleic breeding lines were evaluated in small field plots in Fort Cobb, OK. Environmental conditions in 2020 were favorable for Sclerotinia blight due to cooler-than-average temperatures in September and October in addition to above-average precipitation in September. Of the 12 runner lines evaluated, the top numerical entries for crop value, a combined measure of yield and seed grade, were Lariat ($992 per acre) and ARSOK breeding line R92-13 ($925 per acre). ARSOK breeding line R96-8 had the least Sclerotinia blight at 7 percent; in contrast, the susceptible control, FloRun ‘107’, had 54 percent disease. For the Spanish/Valencia entries, ARSOK-S96-5 ($629 per acre), Span-17 ($624 per acre), and ARSOK-S88-2 ($615 per acre) had the highest numerical crop values. In the Virginia trial, the three highest numerical crop values were obtained by Contender, NC17EX, and Jupiter ($895, $830, and $830 per acre, respectively). No statistically significant differences in Sclerotinia blight were observed, but the Virginia entries had significant differences in pod sizes (no. per ounce) and distribution of pod size classes by weight. Eight Virginia entries were tested in the pod rot nursery. Moderately high levels of pod rot were observed, but there were no significant differences among the entries. These results demonstrate ongoing progress in breeding improved peanut cultivars.

Technical Abstract: Sustainability of the Southwest peanut industry depends on the continuous improvement of locally adapted cultivars. Peanut cultivars developed in other production areas may also be grown successfully in the Southwest, but their susceptibility to local diseases is often unknown. Therefore, disease evaluations of advanced peanut breeding lines are conducted annually to compare the agronomic traits (crop value, yield, seed grade and characteristics) and disease resistance to cultivars that are currently available or close to being released for the Southwest. In 2020, a total of 34 commercial cultivars and high-oleic advanced breeding lines were evaluated in small field plots in Fort Cobb, OK. Environmental conditions in 2020 were favorable for Sclerotinia blight due to cooler-than-average temperatures in September and October in addition to above-average precipitation in September. Of the 12 runner lines evaluated, the two numerically highest entries for crop value, a composite measure of yield and seed grade, were Lariat ($992 per acre) and ARSOK-R92-13 ($925 per acre). ARSOK breeding line R96-8 had the least Sclerotinia blight at 7 percent; in contrast, the susceptible control, FloRun ‘107’, had 54 percent disease. For the Spanish/Valencia entries, ARSOK-S96-5 ($629 per acre), Span-17 ($624 per acre), and ARSOK-S88-2 ($615 per acre) had the highest numerical crop values. In the Virginia trial, the three highest numerical crop values were obtained by Contender, NC17EX, and Jupiter ($895, $830, and $830 per acre, respectively). No significant differences in Sclerotinia blight were observed, but the Virginia entries had significant differences in pod sizes (no. per ounce) and distribution of pod size classes by weight. Eight Virginia entries were tested in the pod rot nursery: Jupiter, ACI 351, Contender, IPG 464, NC1EX, NC2EX, NC7EX, and NC17EX. Moderately high levels of pod rot were observed, but there were no significant differences among the entries. These results demonstrate ongoing progress in breeding improved peanut cultivars.