AgriLife Research peanut breeder named Fellow by industry organization
Mark Burow receives honor from American Peanut Research Education Society
Mark Burow, Ph.D., a Texas A&M AgriLife Research peanut breeder and professor in the Texas A&M Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, has been honored with the title of Fellow by the American Peanut Research Education Society.
Burow, who is stationed at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Lubbock and is also a professor in the Texas Tech Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, is responsible for developing new peanut varieties for Texas producers.
His research emphasizes improving edible seed quality, including high oleic oil content, early maturity, drought and tolerance to water deficit and heat stress, as well as resistance to multiple diseases. He leads a productive basic and applied research program to improve these traits.
“I am deeply honored to be named a Fellow of the American Peanut Research and Education Society,” Burow said. “I would like to thank my colleagues, students, technicians and producers who have helped me advance peanut research over the years. And I need to thank my family who has allowed me to spend the long hours in the office and field, along with God for all of his blessings and help.”
Burow said his goal has always been to develop varieties that help growers succeed in challenging environments while delivering the quality and performance the industry requires.
“It has been a privilege to contribute to that work, both in Texas and through collaborations with partners around the world,” he said.
Building a successful program
Burow has released 16 peanut cultivars as the primary investigator or co-investigator, 13 germplasm lines with improved agronomic traits, and two bioinformatic computer databases. These materials include Spanish, runner and Valencia market types adapted to the Southwestern growing region for irrigated and nonirrigated production.
These newly created lines involved collaborations with numerous scientists to evaluate existing germplasm and advanced hybrids for cultivar release. They represent Burow’s most impactful research projects to improve drought tolerance and disease resistance and developed and utilized molecular technologies to improve selection efficiency.
He has also identified and utilized variation in the peanut germplasm collection for agronomically useful traits including drought and heat stress tolerance, as well as resistance to aflatoxin and nematodes, Sclerotinia blight, fatty acid synthesis and leaf spots. He developed molecular marker technologies for peanut, which have increased breeding efficiency.
Additionally, he has a remarkable grant and publication record and has trained a large number of graduate students and postdocs, as well as hosted visiting scientists.
His international efforts have resulted in improved cultivars with drought and disease resistance in West Africa during a 20-year collaboration. He was a key member of the Peanut Genomics effort and participated in numerous international meetings to collaborate with peers and share molecular research findings with international scientists.
Awards and recognition
Burow has also received the Texas A&M Office of Technology Commercialization Award and the International Peanut Genome Initiative Award by the Peanut Genome Consortium.
He has been a member of the American Peanut Research and Education Society for 28 years. He served as president-elect in 2021-2022, president in 2022-2023 and past president in 2023-2024.
