The Future of Peanut Agronomic Research - The Sky is Not the Limit

Many guidelines for agronomic management of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) are well-established when considered individually. However, crop productivity is typically driven by more than one variable and the interactions of multiple practices are not as easily derived. With an ever-changing availability of new cultivars with greater disease resistance, improved yield and/or grade potential, and varying growth characteristics, there is a steady need for agronomic research in both the immediate and distant futures. In some cases, traditional agronomic experimentation on variables such as rotations, tillage and land management, timing of planting, row pattern and spacing, seeding rate, irrigation, plant growth regulators, inoculant/biological products and fertilization need to be revisited every several years when a new cultivar becomes commercially relevant. This is especially true with differing climates and soil types in various growing regions. The effects of climate and weather along with pest pressure, pest management programs, and maturity characteristics of cultivars are also drawing the attention of peanut agronomists to improve predictability of optimum maturity. Yet, peanut agronomists are also attempting to adapt new ideas to assist with management decisions and increase revenue potential for growers to stay competitive in a very volatile commodity market domestically and with fluctuating export opportunities. The adoption of technologies such as GPS guidance, seed monitors, aerial imagery, and variable rate planting or spraying equipment are becoming more common to assist growers with better precision in planting and digging practices, ensuring proper seed placement, and assessing problematic areas in the field for site-specific in-season management decisions. So many excellent achievements have been made through the collaborations of scientists of the American Peanut Research and Education Society over the last 50 years, and there is no doubt that similar collaborations remain strong throughout the current membership to lead us into the future.