This year’s annual meeting of the American Peanut Research and Education drew a crowd of nearly 400 peanut scientists and others in the peanut industry to the Hilton Clearwater Beach in Clearwater, Fla., July 12-14 for a comprehensive forum on peanut research.

A total of 148 technical papers on topics ranging from plant breeding to pest control to  peanut shelling and handling  were presented at the two-day conference. The APRES annual  meeting draws peanut scientists, Extension specialists and others from USDA, universities and leading peanut companies. A virtual “who’s who” of America’s top peanut breeders, entomologists, weed scientists and other peanut experts use the annual meeting to network with peers and learn the latest in peanut science.

The organization’s goal is to work together to serve the American public, peanut farmers and the peanut industry through research and educational programs. The group strives to increase the quality of the peanut crop through improved production, harvesting and processing techniques, improved peanut pest management strategies, and improvement of the peanut plant through plant breeding.

A key role of the annual meeting is the forum it presents for graduate students at such great peanut research universities as Clemson, the University of Florida,  the University of Georgia,  North Carolina State University and Virginia Tech to present their latest research findings.

Next year’s APRES meeting will be held July 11 – 13, 2017 at Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town in Albuquerque, N.M.