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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Dawson, Georgia » National Peanut Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #316027
Title: Measurements of Oleic Acid among Individual Kernels Harvested from Test Plots of Purified Runner and Spanish High Oleic Seed

Author
item DAVIS, J - Jla Global
item LEEK, J - Jla Global
item SWEIGART, D - Hershey Company
item Dang, Phat
item Butts, Christopher - Chris
item Sorensen, Ronald - Ron
item Lamb, Marshall

Submitted to: American Peanut Research and Education Society Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/1/2015
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: None required.

Technical Abstract: Normal oleic peanuts are often found within commercial lots of high oleic peanuts when sampling among individual kernels. Kernels not meeting high oleic threshold could be true contamination with normal oleic peanuts introduced via poor handling, or they could be immature and not fully expressing the high oleic trait. Beyond unintentional mixing, factors contributing to variation in oleic acid concentration in peanut kernels include market type, environment, maturity and/or kernel size; however, the relative influence of these factors, and their interactions, is not quantitatively well understood on the single kernel level. To better understand these factors while simultaneously excluding variation from unintentional mixing, seed from a high oleic Spanish cultivar and seed from a high oleic runner cultivar were carefully purified via NIR technology and subsequently planted in environmentally controlled test plots to analyze progeny for oleic acid chemistry. Post flowering, the soil in the pod zone in plot sections were either chilled (5-7°F below ambient), maintained at ambient or heated (7-10°F above ambient) to characterize soil temperature effects on oleic acid chemistry development. Fully randomized (4 reps) plots included the purified high oleic Spanish and runner cultivars, three soil temperatures, seed maturity (profile board), commercial kernel size classifications, and a late season flower termination protocol. At harvest, the oleic acid concentration of approximately 20,000 individual kernels were measured via NIR technology. Significant market type, temperature, maturity and size effects on high oleic chemistry among kernels were observed. Implementation of a late season flower termination protocol significantly, and positively, influenced high oleic chemistry of runner peanuts, minimized immature kernels not meeting high oleic threshold, and resulted in elevated and more consistent distributions in this key chemistry. Late season flower termination resulted in distributions within the runner peanut market type that were similar to those of the more botanically determinate, but lower yielding, Spanish market type. Data from this study improves understandings of expected natural variation in high oleic chemistry and suggests late season flower termination of runner peanuts as a viable strategy to maximize high oleic chemistry of individual kernels.