Confirming or Redefining the Water Use Curve for Peanuts

Research to look at the water use of peanut crops and the potential of reducing the amount of water needed to produce equal yields with less water was started in June 2017. The experiment was designed to conduct pot studies of the peanut water curve developed by Drs. J. Stancell and Pallas verses reduced water application rates. The hypothesis is that reduced water will be required for the 06G peanut verses that of the Florunner used by Drs. J. Stancell and Pallas. To conduct the research, the PI Dr. Gary Hawkins used grow lights inside enclosed building where irrigation could be applied at rates equal to and various rates below that of the current water use curve. Additionally, peanuts were grown under a hoophouse where the peanuts received natural light and irrigation equal to those of the water use curve and mimicking the application rates of those grown under LED lights. 
As part of the project, Dr. Hawkins had both an undergraduate student in Biological and Agricultural Engineering (BAE) assist with the planting and irrigation of the peanut plants and a UGA CAES Young Scholar helping with the project. The BAE student helped with programming the irrigation system and monitoring the application rates. The UGA CAES Young Scholar assisted with the watering of plants, but had a few interesting ideas of how the project and data could be used. He was interested in space travel and growth of plants on the space station or other planets. So, we used the base project as a means for him to develop a poster on changes in growth rates of the peanuts under LED lights (those used in space) and natural light. In the previous report, a copy of the poster was included. 
Since the last report, the peanuts from the 2018 harvest have been collected, blasted, and the results have been plotted.