Evaluation of advanced Georgia peanut breeding lines with reduced-input and without irrigation

USA peanut ( Arachis hypogaea L.) growers are currently needing disease- and insect-resistant cultivars to lower input production cost to increase net returns and enhance their competitiveness in the global market. Replicated field trials were conducted for 3 years (2000–2002) with reduced inputs and without irrigation to evaluate the performance of several advanced Georgia breeding lines at the University of Georgia, Coastal Plain Experiment Station. Each year, reduced inputs for disease control included only four fungicide applications at recommended rates on a 28 d schedule beginning 30 d after planting. No insecticides, nematicides, miticides, or irrigation were applied during the three growing seasons. Two recently released runner-type cultivars ‘Georgia-01R’ (GA 942511) and ‘Georgia-02C’ (GA 982508) were found to consistently out perform the five check cultivars each and every year under these test regimes of reduced input production practices and without irrigation. Both Georgia-01R and Georgia-02C also had comparable or significantly better tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) resistance at midseason and total disease (TD) resistance at harvest than the best TSWV-resistant check cultivars. Peanut growers competitiveness should be enhanced with utilization of such new and improved cultivars.