Effect of Production Environment on Seed Quality of Normal and High- Oleate Large Seeded Virginia-Type Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

ABSTRACT Six Virginia-type peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) cultivars and their paired backcross-derived high-oleate lines were grown during 2003 and 2004 in North Carolina to compare standard germination (SG), cool germination (CG), and electrical conductivity (EC) of seed. Oleic acid level had no influence on SG but did alter CG and EC compared to the corresponding normal oleate cultivars. Averaged across background genotypes, high-oleate lines had lower seed vigor than their paired lines with normal oleic content. The high-oleate lines of three of the six pairs had lower CG and higher EC. Planting and harvest date affected all the seed quality traits measured. Standard germination of both normal and high-oleate lines was reduced in 2004 when harvest was delayed, but was not affected in 2003. In 2003, CG of the high-oleate lines was lower than that of normal lines in three of the four production environments; EC was higher in the high-oleate lines in all planting date and harvest date combinations. In 2004,...