John Cason

John Cason is Assistant Professor of Peanut Genetics at Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center in Stephenville, with joint appointments across Texas A&M University. He holds a PhD in Plant Breeding from Texas A&M and leads peanut breeding programs focusing on wild species introgression and organic production systems.

Cason maintains one of the world's most diverse Arachis germplasm collections, utilizing genomic tools to introgress beneficial traits from wild relatives into cultivated peanuts. His research develops cultivars for organic producers (addressing 98% of US organic peanut production) and pioneers UAS-based phenotyping for yield prediction.

Key projects include:

• Wild species introgression for disease resistance and stress tolerance
• High-throughput phenotyping using Raman spectroscopy and drones
• Organic peanut cultivar development (Tamrun OL series)
• Genome-wide association studies for quality traits

He coordinates statewide breeding trials and multi-disease testing while collaborating with researchers across Texas A&M's agricultural centers. Cason teaches genetic techniques and mentors graduate students in crop improvement methodologies.