Duration: 10/01/2001 to 09/30/2007

Administrative Advisor(s):

NIFA Reps:

Non-Technical Summary

Statement of Issues and Justification

Growers in the contiguous Virginia-North Carolina peanut production region need early maturing, high yielding, disease-and pest-resistant peanut varieties with acceptable processing quality. Data on these characteristics must be collected in a multiple-site testing program that represents the agroecological conditions across the two-state region.

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is produced in a contiguous area in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina where it is an important cash crop. The farm-gate value of the crop in the two-state area is approximately $175 million. The added economic value of the total industry to the mid-Atlantic region is enormous. The jobs created by the seed, fertilizer, pesticide, shelling, and manufacturing industries are very important to the economic stability of this area.

Weather conditions are important in determining the economic value of the peanut crop. Virginia-Carolina peanut producers have suffered severe financial losses from drought, early frost, and flooding in recent years. An estimated 4.5 to 6 million-dollar loss was attributed to frost damage in two recent years. Drought has also contributed to financial loss to growers accounting for approximately 25 million dollars in 1993 and lesser amounts in 1995 and 1997. Peanut diseases account for substantial losses each year, including depression of yield and quality as well as the cost of chemical disease control. Virginia peanut growers lost an estimated $23.6 million in farm income to diseases in 1996 (1) and an average of $11million in 1997 (2) and 1998 (3).

Quality of all food is a worldwide issue, and peanut products are no exception. Consumers are increasing their demand for an improved product, and the peanut industry strives to deliver peanut products with zero defects in quality. With consumer demands varying over time, new quality characteristics may emerge that are important in the marketability of peanuts. For example, bright pod color of in-shell peanuts, reduced fat content, and freedom from pesticide residues, have become consumer issues in recent years. Developing improved varieties is one way to obtain better quality desired by today's health- and quality-conscious consumer.

Therefore, the need for early maturing, high yielding, disease resistant peanut varieties with acceptable quality characteristics has become more apparent. Growers would like a variety that matures early (around September 15 in the Virginia-Carolina area) in order to start harvest earlier, avoiding the danger of frost and escaping additional damage from late-season diseases. Disease resistant varieties are needed to reduce growers financial loss to diseases and help them curtail pesticide use. Research in peanut breeding and variety evaluation must be continued by public institutions in order to develop improved varieties and provide unbiased information for use by the areas peanut growers, shellers, and processors.

With the added emphasis on early maturity, pest resistance, and quality characteristics, plus agronomic and grade factors, it is essential to evaluate breeding lines in several production environments prior to release to farmers. Uniform testing procedures are required to properly evaluate advanced breeding lines with potential use in the Virginia-Carolina production area. In the interest of serving area needs, selected breeding lines from other production areas that have potential in this production area also need to be evaluated. Testing in several locations provides additional data on the performance of lines under the different environments found in the peanut production area. This procedure allows for the collection of valuable data on yield, maturity, and quality stability of new breeding lines and of their adaptation at various locations within the production area. These data provide information for an advisory committee to recommend whether a line should be released as a new variety. Data may also be used by peanut breeders to identify parents for future crosses in their breeding programs.

Agronomic and processing characteristics of peanuts have vital importance to the peanut industry. A potential variety may have excellent agronomic characteristics but unacceptable quality or vice versa. The purpose of this project is not only to evaluate the potential of breeding lines for agronomic characteristics and early maturity, but also to use the peanuts from these field trials for processing. Samples of peanuts will be provided to industry for determining blanchability, processing quality, and consumer acceptance. Without this project, a complete quality evaluation of potential new varieties would not be available to the industry prior to a variety's release. Without quality evaluations, new varieties could be released having quality characteristics detrimental to the peanut industry. The cooperation between university, researchers, and industry through a joint advisory committee will insure good quality and consumer acceptance as well as agronomic potential in any new peanut variety released to the producers.

Related, Current and Previous Work

All varieties currently planted on the Virginia-Carolina areas peanut acreage were evaluated through the efforts of the Virginia-North Carolina Peanut Variety and Quality Evaluation Program. The program began in 1968 as a joint project between the two states so that new varieties released in the region would conform to agronomic and quality standards acceptable to the peanut industry (4). Prior to this program, uniform evaluation of breeding lines for agronomic and quality characteristics was not available before their release as new varieties, and industry did not have an official voice in recommendations concerning release. The program was initiated as Regional Project S-140, but was later converted to two separate Hatch projects. The Virginia AES project was charged with actually conducting the performance trials and quality evaluations while funds allocated to the North Carolina ARS project for support of the program were transferred to Virginia in the form of a grant.

The program has contributed to the scientific knowledge of variety evaluation and quality analyses (5-21). Examples are the development of uniform procedures for mechanically planting and harvesting peanut variety trials, a small laboratory blancher, modified procedures for determining fatty acid concentrations, and procedures to evaluate pod brightness by colorimetry. Project and industry personnel have cooperated through an advisory committee to insure the acceptability of new varieties. Industry personnel have also had an active role in the evaluation of some quality characteristics. The proposed project will utilize and build upon the procedures and methodologies established under the previous projects in cooperation with the peanut industry.

Peanut quality may be defined as a physical, chemical, and biological state. Quality evaluation is the description of that state and its rating according to some quality index. Mill outturn, distribution of seed size; consumer acceptance of taste, texture, and flavor; blanchability; shelf-life; fatty acid composition; maturity; pod brightness, and other processing characteristics appear to be the most useful measurements of quality, based on previous work.

Procedures and methods have been developed for measuring quality (22). Samples as small as 250 g can be evaluated for blanchability using a small laboratory blancher developed by Wright and Mozingo (10) and approved procedures (20). The hull scrape method (23) and seed/hull weight ratio (24) have been reported as ways to identify maturity. Gas chromatography can be used to obtain fatty acid composition (from which iodine value or shelf-life can be determined), sugar content, and flavor profile analyses. Recently, a rapid headspace analysis method for evaluating flavor quality was developed using gas chromatography (25). Consumer panels are used to rate flavor using a hedonic scale.

Peanut cultivars perform differently under variable environmental conditions and soil types, as shown by Alexander (26). Advanced generation bulks of sister lines, constituted empirically (27, 28, 29), have been utilized in peanuts to reduce genotype-by-environment interactions. The use of genetic mixtures, such as multilines, has also been suggested as a means of achieving greater stability and broader adaptation to the environment (30). In a limited study, Schilling et al. (15) found that late generation bulks of sister lines similar in phenotype had greater yield stability than the individual component lines. However, a few lines were as stable as the bulk, suggesting that breeding lines need to be evaluated for stability.

Matlock (31) noted that environment plays an important role in quality characteristics. Differences in distribution and amounts of moisture during critical growth periods may cause the same variety to vary in flavor. He found that fatty acid distributions varied with market types and that significant interactions occur between genotype and location for oleic/linoleic ratios. Mozingo and Steele (17) reported that variation in fatty acid composition was related to years, locations, genotypes, and, to a lesser extent, digging dates. Mozingo et al. (7,8) also reported fatty acid composition to be altered by the plant growth regulator succinic acid 2,2-dimethylhydrazide (SADH) and market grade.

Coffelt et al. (9) reported that grade and variety also affect protein quality. Of the five varieties studied, NC-Fla 14 was consistently higher in most of the proximate components and amino acids, whereas NC 17 was consistently lower. Meal produced from the extra large seed was significantly higher in most components tested, while the components in the meal from seed used for oil stock were significantly lower.

Mozingo and Coffelt (16) reported that some grade characteristics were affected by varieties, row patterns, and plant populations. The percentage of fancy pods was higher in a single row pattern than in a double row pattern. High plant populations produced a significantly higher percentage of sound mature kernels than did low plant populations. VA 81B had significantly higher percentages of extra large kernels, sound mature kernels, total meat, and price per unit weight; thus VA 81B had a higher crop value than the Florigiant variety.

Objectives

1. To evaluate the yield, pest resistance, and maturity (genetic potential) of advanced virginia-type peanut breeding lines developed by peanut breeding programs in Virginia and North Carolina.
   
2. To evaluate the quality characteristics and consumer acceptance of advanced peanut breeding lines.
   
3. To develop research procedures and management systems for the evaluation of peanut lines.
   
4. 
   

Methods

Objective 1: Small-plot and large-plot tests will be conducted annually on different soil types representative of the peanut-producing area. Two small-plot tests and a single large-plot test will be conducted in both North Carolina and Virginia. One early maturity yield test will be conducted in Virginia. Small-plots will consist of two 12.2 m rows spaced 0.9 m apart. In the small-plot test there will be two replicates for each entry, in a randomized complete block design for each of two digging dates. The large-plot test will be approximately 0.2 ha for each entry planted in a four 0.9 m row randomized strip design. The early maturity yield test will be a randomized complete block design with three replications. Test locations will be chosen to be representative of the soil types common in the peanut-producing area with variations from medium to light sandy soils. Some locations will have irrigation capabilities and others will be only rain fed. Advanced breeding lines developed by the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station and the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service will be evaluated in comparison with standard commercial varieties that have desired agronomic and quality characteristics acceptable by the peanut industry. Lines developed by public breeding programs in other states and private breeding lines will be considered for testing and evaluation on a fee basis upon formal request, subject to approval by the programs advisory committee.

Breeding lines may be entered in the small-plot test and/or large-plot test after review of performance data from their originating breeding programs. To be accepted, non-segregating advanced breeding lines must have some characteristic that shows an advantage over standard varieties, such as increased yield, earlier maturity, better quality characteristics, or pest resistance. For the small-plot test, seed of these lines will be acquired from the breeder. For the large-plot test, excess peanuts from previous small-plot tests may be used if the breeder has insufficient seed stocks. Uniform standard cultural practices conducive to the production of high quality peanuts and recommended for the Virginia-Carolina area will be employed.

Lines that exhibit potential as new varieties (high yield, early maturity, pest resistance, or superior quality) in the small-plot tests may be entered in the large-plot test the following year. Each entry in the large-plot test will be grown so that an adequate quantity of peanuts may be obtained for milling and processing evaluations. A maximum of 50 entries with two replications and two digging dates for the small-plot tests and three entries for the large-plot tests including check varieties will be evaluated annually. Only lines with potential to be released as new varieties will be entered in the large-plot tests.

Since the genetic expression of breeding lines varies with environment (locations with different soil types and weather conditions), data obtained from the various locations will provide an estimate of the genotype-by-environment interaction. Data across environments will also be analyzed using parametric approaches to estimate stability for each breeding line. Regression (32,33) and variance methodologies (34) will be applied; lines with yield consistently superior to the test mean (high mean, b; 1, r^2; 1) or with low stability variance will be considered stable. Agronomic and USDA market grade data will be collected, statistically analyzed, summarized, and published in annual reports. Based on performance, lines with desired characteristics will be selected for additional testing.

Objective 2: The processing quality of advanced lines will be determined by tests conducted at the Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Ctr. in Suffolk, commercial processing plants, and public and private laboratories. Blanching data will be obtained using a laboratory test with small samples and commercial evaluation with larger samples. Flavor will be evaluated by consumer and trained panels. Fatty acid composition will be measured using gas chromatography, and shelf life will be calculated from fatty acid composition. Oil and protein content will be measured for specific grades milled from large plot samples. Calcium content will be measured for sound mature kernels as an indicator of germination and seedling vigor. Maturity will be rated based on seed appearance. Milling quality obtained in the pilot shelling plant will include a determination of all shelled and in-shell grades of peanuts, their percentages, characteristics, and a total mill outturn. Each grade will be processed into at least one consumer product in cooperation with peanut manufacturers and evaluated for acceptance by a consumer panel in addition to the manufacturer's evaluation.

The peanut industry will be asked to assist in the collection of processing data. Jumbo and fancy in-shell peanuts will be roasted by an in-shell processor. Other manufacturers will be asked to accept shelled peanuts sized into extra large, medium, No. 1, and No. 2 grades for roasting, salting, and/or processing into peanut butter and confectionery products. All processed products will be evaluated for consumer acceptance.

Project personnel with cooperation from other laboratories will collect data for quality traits not obtained by industry. These data will include blanchability, oil and protein content, iodine value, oleic/linoleic acid ratios, fatty acid composition as determined by gas chromatography, seed size distribution, and calcium content. Results will be statistically analyzed and published in an annual report. This report will contain data on the milling and quality evaluations.

Objective 3: Studies will be initiated to develop more accurate research procedures to be used in the evaluation of advanced peanut breeding lines. Calcium and manganese nutrition, seed spacing, and plant type will be examined utilizing peanut lines or varieties which have potential to respond to one of these variables.

As quality characteristics change in importance or become better defined, new methods for evaluating these characteristics will be tested. A current example is the headspace analysis technique which may become a standard quality test (25). This method offers a potentially more objective determination of flavor. Reduced fat content and changes in the fatty acid distribution of peanuts are two quality factors which will be addressed. Peanut samples will also be supplied to other labs and agencies so we may cooperatively investigate the possibilities of developing new quality testing methods.

Measurement of Progress and Results

Outputs

• Results of the annual tests will be published in the Tidewater AREC Information Series, one on agronomic performance and a second on quality evaluations each year. Information from the program is also presented at meetings of professional organizations such as the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America and the American Peanut Research and Education Society. Data are also used by extension personnel to inform producers of the acceptability of different varieties to different environmental conditions.</P>
• Performance data from peanut breeding lines will be used by the Virginia AES and North Carolina ARS as the basis for variety release decisions for the two states. These two institutions will obtain Plant Variety Protection certificates on new releases and will charge royalties on the use of seed. Other institutions participating in the program on a fee basis will also use the data for release decisions in their respective states. These varieties will be released through Foundation and Certified seed programs which market seed to growers. New variety releases with pest resistance could offer production costs savings to producers. For example, a variety resistant to early leafspot, Cylindrocladium black rot and Sclerotinia blight could save the grower approximately $200 per acre normally spent on metam sodium fumigant and post-emergence protectant fungicides. Newly released varieties will increase the users profitability through improved yield and resistance to diseases and pests. New varieties will also have enhanced pod brightness and processing quality, resulting in a more desirable product for sale to consumers. </P>

Outcomes or Projected Impacts

Milestones

(0):0

Projected Participation

View Appendix E: Participation

Outreach Plan

Organization/Governance

Technical Committee

One TC member will be appointed from each of the two participating state AESs. Because the TC membership is limited to two, the entire TC will perform all duties. The committee will meet in March each year to review data collected in the previous crop year and to plan the experiments for the coming one.

Administrative Advisors

One administrative advisor from each of the two participating state AESs will attend the annual review of data and planning session for the following crop year.

Peanut Variety and Quality Evaluation Advisory Committee:

An advisory committee composed of a grower, a sheller, a manufacturer, a food scientist, and an extension specialist from each state will review the data collected from the various tests to determine the total acceptance of a particular breeding line as a new peanut variety. The administrative advisors from the state AESs will be ex officio members and co-chairs of the Advisory Committee. The institutions that developed the breeding line will then considered the recommendation of this advisory committee before making a release decision.

Literature Cited

1. Phipps, P. M. 1996. Applied research on field crop disease control. Tidewater Agric. Res. and Ext. Ctr. Info. Series No. 384.




2. Phipps, P. M. 1997. Applied research on field crop disease control. Tidewater Agric. Res. and Ext. Ctr. Info. Series No. 399




3. Phipps, P. M. 1998. Applied research on field crop disease control. Tidewater Agric. Res. and Ext. Ctr. Info. Series No. 414

4. Mozingo, R. Walton. 1970. Peanuts: from breeding line to variety in Virginia and North Carolina. J. Am. Peanut Res. Educ. Assoc. 2:18-21.

5. Schilling, T. T., R. W. Mozingo, J. C. Wynne, and T. G. Isleib. 1983. A comparison of peanut multilines and component lines across environments. Crop Sci. 23:101-105.

6. Mozingo, R. W., and J. L. Steele. 1982. Fatty acid composition of peanut genotypes in the Virginia-Carolina production area. Proc. Am. Peanut Res. Educ. Soc. 14:29-39.

7. Mozingo, R. W., J. L. Steele, and C. T. Young. 1986. Growth regulator effects on the composition of seed of five peanut cultivars. Agron. J. 78:645-648.

8. Mozingo, R. W., T. A. Coffelt, and J. C. Wynne. 1988. Market grade effects on fatty acid composition of five peanut cultivars. Agron. J. 80:73-75.

9. Coffelt, T. A., R. W. Mozingo, E. T. Kornegay, and H. R. Thomas. 1975. The effect of variety and grade on peanut protein quality. J. Am. Peanut Res. Educ. Assoc. 7:4-11.

10. Wright, F. S., and R. W. Mozingo. 1975. Laboratory device for peanut skin removal. Peanut Sci. 2:11-15.

11. Johnson, B. R., R. W. Mozingo, and C. T. Young. 1976. Evaluation of the arginine maturity index (AMI) method of maturity estimation for virginia-type peanuts. Peanut Sci. 3:32-36.

12. Brown., M. L., J. I. Wadsworth, H. P. Dupuy, and R. W. Mozingo. 1977. Correlation of volatile components of raw peanuts with flavor scores. Peanut Sci. 4:54-56.

13. Oupadissakoon, C., C. T. Young, and R. W. Mozingo. 1980. Evaluation of free amino acid and free sugar contents in five lines of virginia-type peanuts at four locations. Peanut Sci. 7:55-60.

14. Mozingo, R. W. 1981. Effect of cultivars and field traffic on the fruiting patterns of virginia-type peanuts. Peanut Sci. 8:103-105.

15. Schilling, T. T., R. W. Mozingo, J. C. Wynne, and T. G. Isleib. 1983. A comparison of peanut multi lines and component lines across environments. Crop Sci. 23:101-105.

16. Mozingo, R. W. and T. A. Coffelt. 1984. Row pattern and seeding rate effects on value of virginia-type peanut. Agron. J. 76:460-462.

17. Mozingo, R. W. and J. L. Steele. 1982. Fatty acid composition of peanut genotypes in the Virginia-Carolina production area. Proc. Am. Peanut Res. Educ. Soc. 14:29-39.

18. Shokraii, E. H., A. Esen, and R. W. Mozingo. 1985. Relation of 36000-dalton arachin subunit to blanchability in peanuts (Arachis hypogaea L.) J. Agric. Food Chem. 33:1114-1116.

19. Mozingo, R. W., and J. L. Steele. 1989. Intrarow seed spacing effects on morphological characteristics, yield, grade, and net value of five peanut cultivars. Peanut Sci. 16:95-99.

20. Wright, F. S., R. W. Mozingo, and J. S. Cundiff. 1992. Method of determining peanut blanchability. ASAE Standard S521. Standards 1992 American Society of Agricultural Engineers, St. Joseph, MI.

21. Isleib, T.G., H.E. Pattee, and P.W. Rice. 1997. A laboratory colorimeter method to measure pod brightness in virginia-type peanuts. Peanut Sci. 24: 81-84.

22. Young, C. T. 1983. Quality Methods. Am. Peanut Res. Educ.. Soc., Stillwater, OK.

23. Williams, J. E., and J. S. Drexler. 1981. A non-destructive method for determining peanut pod maturity. Peanut Sci. 8:134-141.

24. Pattee, H. E., J. C. Wynne, J. H. Young, and F. R. Cox. 1977. The seed/hull weight ratio as an index of peanut maturity. Peanut Sci. 4:47-50.

25. Young, C. T., and A. R. Hovis. 1990. A method for the rapid analysis of headspace volatiles of raw and roasted peanuts. J. Food Sci. 55(1):279-280.

26. Alexander, M. W. 1961. Peanut variety evaluation in Virginia, 1955-1959. Va. Agric. Exp. Stn. Res. Rep. No. 52., Blacksburg, Va.

27. Hammons, R. O. 1974. Genetic vulnerability in peanuts: A second look. Proc. Am. Peanut Res. Educ. Assoc. 6:17-20.

28. Norden, A. J. 1973. Breeding of the cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.). In Peanuts - Culture and Uses. Am. Peanut Res. Educ. Assoc. pp. 175-208. Roanoke, VA.

29. Norden, A. J. 1976. Peanut breeding strategy: Early generation multi-line variety development. Proc. Am. Peanut Res. Educ. Assoc. 8:83.

30. Jensen, N. F. 1952. Intra-varietal diversification in oat breeding. Agron. J. 44:30-34.

31. Matlock, R. S. 1969. Research on peanut quality. Proc. 5th Nat. Peanut Res. Conf., Norfolk, Virginia. pp. 41-54. Published by Virginia Poly. Inst., Blacksburg, VA.

32. Finlay, K. W., and G. N. Wilkinson. 1963. The analysis of adaptation in a plant breeding programme. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 64:742-754.

33. Eberhart, S. A., and W. A. Russell. 1966. Stability parameters for comparing varieties. Crop Sci. 6:36-40.

34. Shukla, G. K. 1972. Some statistical aspects of partitioning GxE components of variability. Heredity 29:237-245.

Attachments

File 392_S-1003Resources.htm

Land Grant Participating States/Institutions

NC, VA

Non Land Grant Participating States/Institutions