Peanut breeding and genetics

This chapter summarizes the accomplishments in peanut breeding and genetics. The chapter discusses the diversity of peanut. Successful cultivar development requires genetic variability for exploitation. Systematic germ plasm collections, particularly of A. hypogaea, have been made by several national organizations and by the International Center for Research in the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Hyderabad, India. One system of DNA delivery for peanut genetic transformation includes infection by wild-type strains of Agrobacterium rhizogenes and Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Genetic studies have been conducted to determine the inheritance of many traits in the peanut, particularly those with economic value. Many economically important traits in peanut are quantitatively inherited. Many techniques have been used to improve the efficiency of peanut breeding. The chapter presents various breeding programs—namely, mass selection, pedigree method, back-cross method, single seed descent method, recurrent selection, and complex crosses. A second component focuses on the need for farming practices to sustain environmental quality, so that productive farming will continue and the quality of the environment for nonagricultural purposes will not be degraded. © 1995 Academic Press Inc.