Evaluation of the U.S. peanut germplasm mini-core collection in the Virginia-Carolina region using traditional and new high-throughput methods

Authors: SAYANTAN, SAKAR - University Of Tennessee; OAKES, JOSEPH - Virginia Tech; CAZENAVE, ALEXANDRE-BRICE - Bayer Cropscience; BUROW, MARK - Texas A&M Agrilife; Bennett, Rebecca; Chamberlin, Kelly; WANG, NING - Oklahoma State University; WHITE, MELANIE - Former ARS Employee; Payton, Paxton; Mahan, James; CHAGOYA, JENNIFER - Texas A&M Agrilife; SUNG, CHENG-JUNG - Texas Tech University; MCCALL, DAVID - Virginia Tech; THOMASON, WADE - Virginia Tech; BALOTA, MARIA - Virginia Tech

Submitted to: Agronomy Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/15/2022
Publication Date: 8/18/2022
Citation: Sayantan, S., Oakes, J., Cazenave, A.-B., Burow, M.D., Bennett, R.S., Chamberlin, K.D., Wang, N., White, M., Payton, P., Mahan, J., Chagoya, J., Sung, C.-J., Mccall, D.S., Thomason, W.E., Balota, M. 2022. Evaluation of the U.S. peanut germplasm mini-core collection in the Virginia-Carolina region using traditional and new high-throughput methods. Agronomy Journal. 12(8). Article 1945. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12081945.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12081945

Interpretive Summary: Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important food crop for the U.S.A. and the world. The Virginia-Carolina (VC) region including Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina is one of the important peanut growing regions in the U.S.A. In this region, peanut production can be affected by numerous biotic and abiotic stresses. Identification of sources of resistance to these stresses along with improved phenotyping methods is the first step in the development of improved cultivars. The U.S. mini core germplasm collection represents a valuable source of biotic and abiotic stress resistance that breeders can use to improve peanut tolerance to these stresses. Our objectives were to assess the U.S. mini core germplasm collection for desirable phenotypic traits related to increased yield in Virginia using traditional and high-throughput phenotyping (HTP) techniques. Traditional phenotyping data and disease or pest damage data were collected. Data was analyzed and was used to identify several peanut accessions that appear to have increased tolerance to drought and disease pressure in the VC region.

Technical Abstract: Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important food crop for the U.S. and the world. The Virginia-Carolina (VC) region (Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina) is an important peanut growing region of the U.S. and is affected by numberous biotic and abiotic stresses. Identification of stress-resistant germplasm, along with improved phenotyping methods, are important steps toward developing improved cultivars. Our objective in 2017 and 2018 was to assess the U.S. mini-core collection for desirable traits, a valuable source for resistant germplasm under limited water conditions. Accessions were evaluated using traditional and high-throughput phenotyping (HTP) techniques, and the suitability of HTP methods as indirect selection tools was assessed. Traditional phenotyping methods included stand count, plant height, lateral branch growth, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), canopy temperature depression (CTD), leaf wilting, fungal and viral disease, thrips rating, post-digging in-shell sprouting, and pod yield. The HTP method included 48 aerial vegetation indices (VIs), which were derived using red, blue, green, and near-infrared reflectance; color space indices were collected using an octocopter drone at the same time, with traditional phenotyping.Both phenotypings were done 10 times between 4 and 16 weeks after planting. Accessions had yields comparable to high yielding checks. Correlation coefficients up to 0.8 were identified for several Vis, with yield indicating their suitability for indirect phenotyping. Broad-sense heritability (H2) was further calculated to assess the suitability of particular VIs to enable genetic gains. VIs could be used successfully as surrogates for the physiological and agronomic trait selection in peanuts. Further, this study indicates that UAV-based sensors have potential for measuring physiologic and agronomic characteristics measured for peanut breeding, variable rate input application, real time decision making, and precision agriculture applications.