• Topics: Agronomy  |  Tillman, Barry L  | Gorbet, Daniel  |  Gomillion, Mark W  |  McKinney, Justin L  | Thomas, William D  |  Peanut Varieties 

Peanut Variety Performance in Florida 2003-2006¹

Variety choice is a critical management decision. There are several good peanut varieties to choose from today. We strongly recommend planting more than one variety on your farm, especially if you plant more than 100 acres of peanuts. Planting more than one variety can help to spread risk of losses from diseases and weather. For example, if you have fields with a history of white mold, there are varieties that have good resistance to that disease compared to some others. We recommend using the University of Georgia Disease Risk Index, or the University of Florida Plant Protection Pointers to evaluate variety resistance to diseases. Your county agent can help you find these resources. For convenience, we have included a summary table from the University of Georgia Disease Risk Index in this article (Table 5).

The first time you try a new variety we recommend planting a relatively small “test” plot (20-50 acres) to make sure you see the differences first-hand. When choosing which varieties to plant, it is important to consider pod yields and grades first, but disease resistance, maturity, seed supply, and anticipated planting dates should also be considered.

The potentially devastating effects of tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) in the southeast makes variety choice very important. The severity of TSWV varies from year to year and we are unable to predict disease levels for a coming crop season. Compared to the 2005 season, TSWV was very mild during the 2006 season. Since TSWV is unpredictable, planting a variety with good resistance can significantly reduce your risk of loses from TSWV. Among the tests grown in Florida, TSWV is usually most severe in Marianna, so variety performance in that location will give a good indication of the TSWV resistance of a given variety. Results often are very different between Marianna, Gainesville, and Jay, depending on TSWV and other disease pressure. Variety resistance to TSWV is summarized in Table 5 which is from the 2007 University of Georgia Disease Risk Index.

This report provides data from University of Florida trials conducted at Gainesville (Citra), Marianna, and Jay research centers from 2003-2006. Tests in Marianna and Gainesville were grown with irrigation and the tests at Jay are not irrigated. All tests are managed for optimum production, including the use of pesticides to control various pests. In furrow insecticides (Temik or Thimet) were used in Gainesville and Jay, but not in Marianna.

Peanut Varieties in the Southeast

Peanut acreage in the southeastern US has been historically dominated by one variety during a given time period. For about 20 years, beginning in the early 1970s and continuing through the early 1990s, Florunner was the dominant peanut variety grown in the southeast. In the mid 1990s, TSWV began to cause severe losses in Florunner and other varieties used at the time that did not have TSWV resistance. Since the late 1990s, Georgia Green has been the dominant cultivar. The primary reason for the popularity of Georgia Green was its moderate resistance to TSWV. At the time of its release, Georgia Green was the only medium maturity runner variety with resistance to TSWV.

As the TSWV epidemic of the 1990s showed, it is dangerous for the peanut industry to rely so heavily on one cultivar at a time. Like Florunner before it, Georgia Green occupied about 75% of the certified seed acreage in Alabama, Florida and Georgia in 2005 (Figure 1) and at least that amount for the previous 10 years or so. In 2006 the certified seed acreage of other varieties displaced Georgia Green (Figure 2). In particular, Georgia-02C, C-99R, AP-3, Georgia-03L, and AT3081R increased in acreage by about 20 percentage points from 2005 to 2006. To help spread the risk of losses from disease it seems preferable that no one variety occupy more than 50% of the acreage. Because the seed increase ratio of peanuts is so low, having several varieties in seed production at significant levels would allow a much quicker shift to different varieties if needed.

Figure 1. 

Certified seed acreage in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia in 2005.

Figure 2. 

Certified seed acreage in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia in 2006.

2006 Results

Pod yields, TSMK (total sound mature kernels) percentage, maturity and TSWV ratings for tests at three locations in Florida in 2006 are reported in Table 1. Each entry was harvested (dug) at their apparent optimum maturity stage (i.e., E = 125-130 days after planting (DAP); M = 133-139 DAP; L = 145-155 DAP). TSWV ratings were on a 1-10 scale, where 1 = no disease and 10 = all plants with severe damage or dying.

Spotted wilt was mild in 2006 compared to 2005 and yields were generally good (Table 1). Only two early maturing varieties are available, Virugard and Andru II. Virugard was the higher yielding in 2006. Among the medium maturity varieties, all but AT3081R had higher yield than Georgia Green. Notably, Florida-07 had higher yield than all other medium maturity varieties tested. Among the late maturing varieties, Georgia-01R had the highest yield. All other late maturing varieties had similar yield. The virginia varieties had good yields in 2006 because of reduced TSWV and yields were similar among these varieties.

Four-year results

Averaging over years and locations is a powerful method of determining how a variety will perform over a wide array of environments. The performance of runner market-type varieties in Florida over the past four years (2003-2006) is shown in Table 2.

Among the medium maturity cultivars tested over the past 4 years, AP-3 has demonstrated excellent pod yields, good TSMK percentage, and the best resistance to TSWV. In 3 years of testing, Georgia-03L has had very good pod yields, TSMK and good TSWV resistance. Both AP-3 and Georgia-03L appear to have higher yield and better resistance to TSWV than Georgia Green. Among varieties tested for 2 years, Florida-07 had the highest yield.

Among the late maturing varieties tested for 4 years, Georgia-01R had the highest yield followed by C-99R. Over the 3 year period from 2004-2006, Georgia-01R and C-99R had similar yield followed by Georgia-02C. High TSMK percentage of both Georgia-01R and Georgia-02C is a strength of those varieties. Acreage of Georgia-01R has been limited because of poor seed quality, a problem shared by several late maturing varieties.

The performance of virginia market-type varieties in Florida over the past four years (2003-2006) is shown in Table 3. Most all of these varieties are more susceptible to TSWV than the popular runner varieties and, if they contract the disease, yield losses could be substantial. Even though TSWV was not severe in 2006, a new variety from Georgia, Georgia-05E was tested for the first time in Florida and appears to have good TSWV resistance. Another experimental line from Florida, UF03618 also has good resistance to TSWV.

Location Results

The pod yield of peanut cultivars grown in three locations in Florida is shown in Table 4. In general, the highest yielding entries in one location also did well in the other locations. Yields are generally lower in Jay, Florida because the peanuts are not irrigated. Pod yields in Gainesville are generally higher because tomato spotted wilt virus is very mild. In Marianna, yields can be severely limited by tomato spotted wilt virus so the most resistant varieties usually have the highest yield. TSWV pressure in Marianna was much lower in 2006 compared to 2005.

What varieties have the best resistance to TSWV and other diseases?

Disease resistance is a very important factor in choosing a variety. The reaction of several peanut varieties to some diseases that are present in Florida is presented in Table 5. In order to optimize the benefits of these varieties, it is important to chose them based on their disease resistance. From this table, it is relatively easy to find a variety with the right disease package for your situation. If white mold is a problem in some of your fields, AP-3, C-99R, or Georgia-02C would be good choices. Similarly, if you are interested in a late maturing variety, C-99R, Georgia 01R , and Tifrunner have good leafspot resistance and could allow a reduction in the frequency of fungicide sprays needed for leafspot compared to susceptible varieties.

On-Farm Tests

During the past two years, we have conducted farm-scale variety tests in Columbia County, Florida with a limited number of varieties. These tests have consisted of one to two acre replicated plots within a peanut field managed under conditions normal for the farmers who cooperated in the tests. Management included a full season fungicide program. The typical rotation on this farm is two years of peanuts and 4-5 years of bahiagrass, which usually has low disease pressure. These tests are a very good way to verify results from research trials, under low disease pressure.

Over the two years of the test, medium maturing varieties AP-3 and Georgia Green had similar yield and, in 2005, all three varieties had similar yield (Figure 2). Similar results were obtained with the late-maturing varieties on the same farm (Figure 3). Two ton per acre yields are well above the state average of 2,500 to 2,800 pounds even though in some cases the tests were planted the season after a previous peanut crop. These results show that the yield potential of these varieties is similar under near ideal conditions with little or no TSWV but they especially show the value of long-term bahiagrass rotation with peanuts.

Figure 3. 

Performance of three medium maturity varieties in 1-2 acre replicated plots in Columbia County, Florida in 2005 and 2006. The fields were not irrigated, and, in 2005, one year of peanuts followed 4-5 years of bahiagrass. In 2006, the peanuts were the first crop planted after 4-5 years of bahiagrass.

Figure 4. 

Performance of three late maturity varieties in 1-2 acre replicated plots in Columbia, County, Florida in 2005 and 2006. The fields were not irrigated and, in 2005, the peanuts were the first crop planted after 4-5 years of bahiagrass. In 2006, they followed one year of peanuts which were after 4-5 years of bahiagrass.

Summary

Variety choice is a critical management decision for peanut production. There are many choices among varieties suitable for production in the Southeastern US with good to excellent resistance to TSWV. Several of these varieties also have resistance to other diseases. Growing these varieties can reduce your risk and production cost. The varieties C-99R, DP-1, Hull, and Georgia 01R all have considerable resistance to leafspot which, with good crop rotation, might allow you to reduce fungicide sprays and, therefore, production costs. Some of the cultivars have good resistance to soil-borne diseases such as white mold (S. rolfsii) (C-99R, DP-1, CityplaceHull, & AP-3) and CBR (Georgia 01R, Georgia 02C, and Carver). Further information on these traits is available from the University of Florida Plant Protection Pointers web page (http://plantpath.ifas.ufl.edu/takextpub/ExtPubs/ppp1205.pdf) and the University of Georgia Disease Index (University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service, 2005 Peanut Update, CSS-05-0118, pp. 41-57 or on the web at: http://www.ugapeanuts.com/).

We advise you to evaluate your production and marketing situation when choosing a variety and making arrangements for seeds of the varieties that best fit your needs. Seed supplies of some of the new cultivars (Florida-07, McCloud, York and Georgia-05E) will be very limited in 2007.

Tables

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Millie Ferrer-Chancy, Interim Dean.

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