How Texas is perfecting the peanut

That work matters well beyond the farm. The whole peanut plant is usable, with value for food, fuel and animal feed, and it is becoming a more important protein source for people around the world.

Texas has a niche in the peanut market. It is uniquely positioned because it can grow all four types of peanuts – runner, Virginia, Spanish and Valencia; raise them both organically and conventionally; and most significantly, specializes in high oleic varieties.

“This is the only state in the nation that brings that combination together, and because of that, we can specialize our research to meet those markets,” said Stephen Cisneros, Texas A&M AgriLife Research executive associate director.

Research built around real-world demand

The Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Stephenville has the largest peanut breeding program in the state, working from South Texas to the Panhandle to develop new cultivars adapted to all our different growing regions, said João Vendramini, Ph.D., center director and an AgriLife Research forage expert.

Researchers evaluate traits important to farmers while responding to demands from processors and consumers.

“We work with a lot of agronomic characteristics for the producer, but we also listen to stakeholders concerned with the nutritional content of this peanut – the protein, the amino acid profile, oil concentration and other variables,” Vendramini said. “We need that information to be able to make better decisions in our breeding program.”

These decisions are often driven by customer input to processors and shellers, who encourage farmers to grow specific varieties to meet specific needs. AgriLife Research peanut breeders are tasked with making sure the varieties meet those parameters.

“Peanuts are a very interesting commodity because they are versatile,” Vendramini said. “They can be bred for oil production for bioenergy, selected for oil production for cooking or the cultivar may be more focused on the protein concentration and amino acid profile to be included in protein bars, where oil content is less important. All those needs are answered by breeding decisions that create different cultivars and fulfill different requirements.”

“It’s a win-win for the consumer, the producer and industry as a whole,” Cisneros said. “Our role is to always have the customer in mind. Here, our customer is both the producer and the consumer – economically to benefit the producer, and taste and health to benefit the consumer.”

Breeding a ‘complete protein’ for health and oil content

Protein is becoming a higher industry priority, said Johnny Cason, Ph.D.,  AgriLife Research peanut breeder and associate professor in the Texas A&M Department of Soil and Crop Sciences. Peanuts are nutrient-dense and commonly used in ready‑to‑use therapeutic foods, a shelf‑stable peanut paste, as well as in protein bars.

High oleic peanuts are high in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, making the nut and the oil a choice for candy makers and cooks alike. And the high oleic acid also gives the nut an extended shelf life, ensuring products stay fresh longer in homes, restaurants and stores.

However, peanuts are not considered a “complete protein” because they are low in two essential amino acids: lysine and methionine. And that’s one of the breeding challenges Cason faces.

The lack of lysine and methionine affects not only the protein in human foods, but peanuts crushed for oil leave a meal that can be sold as livestock feed. However, peanut meal currently sells at a discount to soybean meal because it lacks those two amino acids.

Utilizing one of the largest collections of wild peanut species in the country, gathered and maintained by longtime AgriLife Research peanut breeder Charles Simpson, Ph.D., AgriLife Research breeders have found natural variations of the two amino acids in wild peanut species.

They are beginning the process to transfer those traits into high-oleic varieties to improve the amino acid profile. They are starting the process of finding genes and markers to introduce, but so far, the cultivated accession levels are not as high as needed, so there is more work to be done, Cason said.

The team of researchers is also focused on high oil content – while there is no renewable fuel market yet for peanuts, the cooking market is operational – along with drought tolerance, both priorities expected to grow as Texas water supplies become more limited.

“We’re running both research programs side by side with a lot of overlap,” Cason said. “Oil content and drought resistance will keep Texas in the peanut business, but the improved essential amino acid content can help feed the rest of the world.”

Collaboration necessary to stay competitive

The collaborative nature of the peanut industry in Texas allows a continual flow of information to solve issues. AgriLife Research’s peanut program strives to disclose new varieties to shellers to get them into variety trials and evaluated in the field, where producers can determine their adaptability.

“The shellers come to us with a problem, and we have the expertise to find solutions,” Cisneros said. “They are the voice of industry; we are the voice of science, research and innovation. When those two work together, we can address the issues that impact our producers.”

“This close collaboration allows producers to see where their research dollars are going and researchers talk to producers about issues,” said Shelly Nutt, Texas Peanut Producers Board executive director. “It’s a two-way street.”

For instance, it was a conversation between a researcher and grower that proved valuable to producing nematode resistance, Nutt said. Simpson introduced resistance genes from wild species collected in east-central Bolivia in 1980 to create the first cultivar that addressed root-knot nematode, a serious threat to peanut production in parts of Texas.

The same can be said for shellers and manufacturers: collaborating with researchers allows them to address issues such as hard seed, and in turn there is a willingness to pay a premium for high oleic peanuts, knowing valued traits such as oleic acid can reduce the producer’s yields.

Links in the field-to-fork chain

Grower Otis Johnson of Seminole said the value of the high oleic peanuts is much more than an extended shelf life – it’s the key to the industry’s survival in the region.

“We only grow about 10-20% of the U.S. peanuts in Texas, but having a niche market, a market we are good at, high oleic peanuts, is super important because it helps us maintain our place in the peanut market,” Johnson said.

Also, growers depend on AgriLife Research to provide agronomic answers to issues such as pod rot and declining water tables that require disease-tolerant, drought-resistant and shorter-season varieties.

Working with Cason and Simpson for over 20 years, Johnson allows testing on his land because there’s no better way to develop varieties or test chemicals than in commercial grower fields.

“Not only do I get the results, but I can see for myself what’s working and which varieties look good under my actual conditions – whether it’s a hot, dry year or a wet year, it’s treated exactly as my fields,” he said.

Michael Franke, vice president and general manager of Birdsong Peanuts in Brownfield, echoed the importance of the relationship between the producers, the sheller and Texas A&M AgriLife. He has been working with Texas A&M AgriLife since he was at Tarleton State University, where he worked with Simpson during his undergraduate work.

“We’re all in the same boat,” he said. “Everything is important, from the field to the fork. The varieties AgriLife Research develops are beneficial for the producer from an agronomic and economic standpoint. And as shellers, we make sure those peanuts process efficiently and their characteristics meet the specifications of the end  user.”