Without question, more and better peanut varieties are being developed for U.S. producers. But uncertainties remain over seed availability and how quickly the cultivars will be adapted to the farm. "I was raised on a little peanut farm in Dale County, Ala.", says Kris Balkcom, Auburn University Extension peanut agronomist. "I've been growing peanuts all of my life, and I’ve never known of a time when we’ve had this many varieties from which to choose, and that’s a good thing."

But it still may take time, due to inadequate seed supplies and the tendency of some growers to stick with what’s tried and true, for some of these improved varieties to be grown on a wide scale. "There are enough of these new varieties out there that we can select some with more disease and virus resistance than Georgia Green", says AU Extension Entomologist Ron Weeks. "Right now, seed producers are holding the bag for us. We were told in December by the seed industry that 60 percent of this year’s crop still will be planted in Georgia Green. We would have hoped that we would have been moving to some of these newer varieties two or three years ago. But it will be awhile before we see adequate seed of some of the new ones."

New releases from this past year from the University of Florida, says Balkcom, include Florida-07, McCloud and York. "Florida-07 is a longer season peanut, about 140 to 145 days, with excellent yields and good virus resistance. But you won't see a lot of seed for that variety this year. McCloud is a mid-season peanut, about 135 days. It doesn’t have as much virus resistance as 07, but it’s another tool we can use. York is a long-season peanut, about 155 days. It is small, like Georgia Green, with good grades and high yields", he says.