UNDERSTANDING PHYSIOLOGICAL AND GENETIC MECHANISMS OF TWO TYPES OF DROUGHT TOLERANT PEANUTS FOR FUTURE AND PRESENT ENVIRONMENTAL ADAPTATION

The long-term goal of this project is to assist breeders in selecting cultivars with different mechanisms of drought tolerance so growers can produce high-yielding peanuts with reduced irrigation or under rainfed conditions and therefore increasing the sustainability of peanut farming. To achieve this objective, we need to better understand the physiology and genetics of "water saver" and "water spender" drought tolerant strategies and by using models, learn where these cultivars may perform better in the Southern United States. For this reason, the supporting objectives of this proposal are:Objective 1: Discover underlying physiological mechanisms of water spender and water saver cultivars.Objective 2: Model water saver and water spender drought tolerant mechanisms to find the best environments to maximize yield.Objective 3: Identifying QTL and probable genes underlying water saving and spender drought tolerant traits.