Phenotypic and Biochemical Characterization of the United States Department of Agriculture Core Peanut (Arachis Hypogaea L.) Germplasm Collection

PHENOTYPIC AND BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CORE PEANUT (ARACHIS HYPOGAEA L.) GERMPLASM COLLECTION By STANLEY W. DEZERN A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2018 ©2018 Stanley W. Dezern To Emily ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This research was made possible through the generous support of The Peanut Foundation, the Georgia Peanut Commission, and the Florida Peanut Producers Association. I would like to thank the University of Florida Plant Science Research and Education Unit for their assistance planting, managing, and harvesting our experiment. My committee has been incredibly helpful in shaping this research, and I would like to thank them for their commitment to this project through many ups and downs. I would especially like to thank Dr. Edzard van Santen for his generously given time and effort assisting with the statistical analysis and editing process. I would like to recognize the Forage Evaluation lab team led by Richard Fethiere for very kindly assisting me on the protein analysis. I would also like to recognize the immensely important contributions of the following former and current members of our lab team: Leah Aidif, Adina Grossman, Louisa Aarrass, Bob Querns, Anthony Cappello, and Jacob Allen. Thank you to Mike Durham and Dr. Jay Ferrell for your constant guidance and encouragement. I am especially grateful for the friendship and support of Candice Prince, who has helped me every step of the way during the past two years. I would like to thank Dr. MacDonald for providing me this opportunity and patiently supporting me throughout this project. I would like to thank my parents for twenty-four years of love and encouragement. And finally, I would not have been able to complete this project were it not for the patient understanding and loving support of my wife Emily. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................4 LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................................8 LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................................14 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................15 ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................................16 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................18 Overview .................................................................................................................................18 Global and Domestic Peanut Production .........................................................................19 Origin of Arachis .............................................................................................................20 Section Arachis ................................................................................................................22 Arachis hypogaea: Morphology and Taxonomy .............................................................23 Peanut Germplasm ..................................................................................................................25 Peanut Germplasm Maintenance .....................................................................................25 USDA Germplasm Collection .........................................................................................25 USDA Core Germplasm Collection ................................................................................26 USDA Core Collection Selection Methodology .............................................................27 Uses of the Core Collection .............................................................................................27 Mini Core Collection .......................................................................................................29 Comparison of USDA Collection to Other Major Collections .......................................31 Breeding and Genetics ............................................................................................................32 Overview of Peanut Breeding .........................................................................................32 Disease resistance .....................................................................................................32 Abiotic stressors .......................................................................................................33 Peanut Genome ................................................................................................................34 Genetics and Breeding Strategies ....................................................................................35 2 MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION ....................................................................39 Background .............................................................................................................................39 Research Objectives ................................................................................................................42 Materials and Methods ...........................................................................................................42 Experimental Background ...............................................................................................42 Planting ............................................................................................................................43 In-Season Measurements .................................................................................................44 Procedure: Phenotypic ............................................................................................................44 Harvest .............................................................................................................................44 5 Processing ........................................................................................................................44 Yield and Grade ...............................................................................................................45 Pod Volume .....................................................................................................................46 Standard Descriptors .......................................................................................................46 Main Stem Flowering Pattern ..........................................................................................46 Statistical Analysis ..........................................................................................................47 Results.....................................................................................................................................48 Yield and Grade ...............................................................................................................48 Pod Traits .........................................................................................................................49 Plant Architecture ............................................................................................................49 Leaf Traits .......................................................................................................................50 Canonical Discriminate Analysis (CDA) ........................................................................51 First CDA .................................................................................................................51 Second CDA .............................................................................................................52 Third CDA ................................................................................................................53 Revised Agronomic Traits ...............................................................................................54 Revised Pod Traits ...........................................................................................................55 Revised Plant Traits .........................................................................................................57 Revised Leaf Traits ..........................................................................................................58 Discussion ...............................................................................................................................59 3 BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION ...........................................................................81 Background .............................................................................................................................81 Research Objectives ................................................................................................................84 Experimental Background ......................................................................................................84 Planting ............................................................................................................................85 Harvest .............................................................................................................................86

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