Comparative Field Performance of Plants Developing from Normal and Abnormal Seedlings of Peanuts¹

The percentage of abnormal peanut seedlings was determined in 18 field plantings during 1973–74. Characteristics of mature plants that developed from normal and abnormal seedlings were compared. Seedlings that emerged 7–10 days later than the field average were identified as abnormal. Plants that developed from abnormal seedlings produced, on the average, less than one-half of the yield of plants that developed from normal seedlings. Pod yields of the plants that developed from abnormal seedlings varied from zero to normal. SMK percentages were significantly different at six of the 15 locations that were measured.

Approximately 95 percent of the plants that developed from abnormal seedlings had abnormal root systems. The most common abnormalities were twisted hypocotyls and/or missing taproots. Abnormal seedlings commonly result from seeds subjected to mechanical impacts during harvesting and processing.