Management of Drought Stress to Improve Field Screening of Peanuts for Resistance toAspergillus flavus

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Abstract
Drought stress during late stages of pod maturation in an irrigated peanut crop during the postrainy season significantly increased the amount of seed infection by Aspergillus flavus. A line-source sprinkler irrigation system imposing a drought-stress gradient was used for field screening of peanut genotypes for resistance to seed infection by A. flavus. A significant, positive, linear relationship was found between water deficit (drought intensity) and seed infection in peanut genotypes. Genotypic differences for seed infection by A. flavus were evident at all levels of drought-stress conditions, the genotypes resistant to A. flavus had low but positive levels of seed infection giving improved statistical precision.