GERMPLASM
150 Journal of Plant Registrations, Vol. 1, No. 2, September 2007
T
xAG-8 peanut (Arachis hypogaea L. subsp. hypogaea var. hypo-
gaea) (Reg. No. GP-127, PI 646155) germplasm line was devel-
oped and released by the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station
in May 2006. TxAG-8, previously designated Tx046127, was
developed for and released based on the color of its leaves, which
turn yellow approximately 60 to 70 d after planting (DAP), and
based on a plant width similar to varieties with a spreading
growth habit. The line is proposed to be used as a field marker to
separate experiments, for confirmation of correct planting order,
or to fill plots for which seed was insufficient. Given the obvi-
ous yellow leaf color during the latter half of the growing season
and brown color toward the end of the season, the line is easy
to distinguish from all other experimental lines. The currently
available field marker, Aureus, is a Spanish-type peanut and is
best avoided in experiments involving runner or Virginia plants
due to the differences in growth habit and interplot competition.
TxAG-8 was developed from a cross between Aureus (Stone,
1968), a yellow-leaf Spanish-type peanut, and ‘Tamrun 96’
(Smith et al., 1998), a runner-type cultivar. The genetic basis
of chlorophyll-deficient mutants has been described previ-
ously (Tai et al., 1977; Dwivedi et al., 1990). The cross was
performed in the greenhouse at Texas A&M University, College
Station, TX, in 2000. The F
1
seeds were planted in the green-
house in 2001. The F
2
generation was sown as spaced plants at
the Western Peanut Growers’ Research Farm (WPGRF) Denver
City, TX, in 2002. No F
2
plants combined yellow leaves and the
spreading growth habit; however, selections were made for yel-
low leaves and long, semi-erect lateral branches. Several F
3
and
F
4
populations were evaluated as replicated plots at the WPGRF
Registration of TxAG-8 Peanut Germplasm Line
Y. López, M. D. Burow,* J. L. Ayers, M. R. Baring, and C. E. Simpson
Y. López and J.L. Ayers, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station,
1102 East FM 1294, Lubbock, TX 79403; M.D. Burow, Texas Agricul-
tural Experiment Station, 1102 East FM 1294, Lubbock, TX 79403,
and Texas Tech Univ., Dep. of Plant and Soil Science, Lubbock, TX
79409; M.R. Baring, Dep. of Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A&M
Univ., College Station, TX 77843; C.E. Simpson, Texas Agricultural
Experiment Station, 1229 U.S. Hwy. 281, Stephenville, TX 76401.
Partial support for the development of TxAG-8 was provided by the
Texas Peanut Producers Board. Registration by CSSA. Received 23
Dec. 2006. *Corresponding author (mburow@tamu.edu).
in 2003 and 2004. Several entries were selected and planted
for increase in Brownfield, TX, in 2005. Entry Tx046127 was
selected as the TxAG-8 germplasm line to be released, based on
leaf color, plant growth habit, and uniformity of appearance.
TxAG-8 has semi-erect lateral branches, with a main stem
that is not prominent, and lacks flowers on the main stem. The
line yielded 61% and 59% less than ‘Florunner’ (Norden et al.,
1969) and Tamrun 96, respectively in 2003, and 57% and 55%
less in 2004. Despite the reduced yield, plant rows filled well and
the plants had a large canopy. Main-stem height average was 13.2
and 17.0 cm at Denver City in 2004 and Brownfield in 2005,
respectively, and plant width averaged 30 and 40 cm. During the
first 60 d of the growing season, the color of the leaves was light
green (143A according to the Royal Horticultural Society-Flower
Council of Holland scale); by contrast, the leaves of Florunner
and Tamrun 96 were green (132A and 137B, respectively). At 60
to 70 DAP, the leaves of TxAG-8 begin changing color, to light
yellow (13A) and eventually darker yellow (14B). However, a few
of the leaves on the plants remain light green (143A); usually,
the plants at the ends of the plot keep greener leaves. Toward the
end of the season, the leaves turn brown. Stem color changed
from light green (137A) to pale yellow (13A) during the season.
Branching pattern is alternate, with hypogaea-type pods vari-
able for size and shape. Two-seeded pods range from 2.6 to 3.8
cm in length and from 1.2 to 1.8 cm in width. There is a high
frequency of single-seeded pods, averaging 36% (range 24–50%).
Pod constriction ranges from very deep, for which pods break
frequently during shelling, to moderate. TxAG-8 has a tan testa
and has a 100-seed weight of 44.7 g. Maturity is variable, rang-
ing from 6 to 66% of pods with black and brown mesocarp.
Small samples (25 seeds) are available from the corresponding
author for five years. Seed requests should be addressed to the
Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, 1102 East FM 1294, Lub-
bock, TX 79403.
References
Dwivedi, S.L., S.N. Nigam, and V. Ramanatha Rao. 1990. Inheritance
of golden yellow mutant in groundnut (A. hypogaea L.). J. Oilseeds
Res. 7:33–35.
Norden, A.J., R.W. Lipscomb, and W.A. Carver. 1969. Registration of
‘Florunner’ peanuts (Reg. No. 2). Crop Sci. 9:850.
Smith, O.D., C.E. Simpson, M.C. Black, and B.A. Besler. 1998. Regis-
tration of ‘Tamrun 96’ peanut. Crop Sci. 38:1403.
Stone, E.G. 1968. Genetics, agronomic, botanical, physical, chemical,
and organoleptic evaluation of peanuts, Arachis hypogaea L. Ph.D.
diss. Oklahoma State Univ., Stillwater.
Tai, P.Y.P., R.O. Hammons, and R.S. Matlock. 1977. Genetic relation-
ships among three chlorophyll-deficient mutants in peanut, Ara-
chis hypogaea L. Theor. Appl. Genet. 50:35–40.
Published in the Journal of Plant Registrations 1:150 (2007).
doi: 10.3198/jpr2006.12.0832crg
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Published September, 2007