Peanut and peanut butter-filled candies are popular Halloween treats. But growing enough peanuts to make these sweets can be a challenge. The plants are vulnerable to pests and disease. That’s why the Wild Peanut Lab at the University of Georgia is on a quest to develop a more resilient peanut.
For the past 15 years, scientists at the Wild Peanut Lab have been crossbreeding commercially grown peanuts with wild peanuts. Commercially grown peanuts are tastier but less hardy. Wild peanuts are the opposite! The scientists’ aim is to create a hybrid plant, containing genes—or units of hereditary material—that help it better withstand pests and disease, while keeping peanuts’ signature taste.