Research Spotlight: Emily Green

Wisconsin native Emily Green is studying the use of wild peanuts for cultivar improvement as part of her thesis research at Tarleton State University. Although wild peanuts are not what consumers find on grocery store shelves, they do contain desirable traits such as drought tolerance, disease resistance, and pest resistance, which Emily hopes to incorporate into cultivated peanuts through plant breeding. 

Emily Green obtained her bachelor’s degree at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and majored in Microbiology with a minor in Chemistry. After several years of working in industry, Emily made the move to Texas and began working for the Agrilife Research & Extension Center in Stephenville, which led her to pursue her master’s at Tarleton State with her thesis focusing on peanuts. 

Due to the pushback against GMOs, Emily is using traditional breeding methods to develop a peanut that upholds desirable qualities of disease resistance, pest resistance, and drought tolerance. If successful, these peanuts would help in the fight against climate change, lower input costs, and create a more diverse cultivar. 

Emily’s thesis is just one example of the incredible work that is being done by the TPPB research team. These researchers are searching for ways to aid and improve the peanut industry for both producers and consumers.  

The Texas Peanut Producers Board funds research projects aimed at increasing grower profitability and has allocated approximately $300k for research in 2024.