Evaluation of the U.S. Peanut Germplasm Mini-Core Collection in the Virginia-Carolina Region Using Traditional and New High-Throughput Methods

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 numerous 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.

Plant phenotyping relevance

UAVベースの高スループットセンシングを用いて植物形質を反復取得し、従来法との比較、収量との相関、遺伝率により選抜への有用性を評価しており、フェノタイピング手法が中心的である。

Code and data availability

The paper's phenotype measurements (traditional traits and 48 aerial vegetation indices for the peanut mini-core) are not deposited in any public repository; the data availability statement indicates they are available only from the corresponding author on request. GRIN, BreedPix/CIMMYT plugin, Fiji, and indexdatabase.

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