In the Southeastern U.S., peanut producers are challenged by long growing seasons and periodic drought. The continued development of drought and aflatoxin resistant peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) cultivars is essential to maintain productivity under less than ideal growing conditions. Remote sensing of canopy reflectance is a well-established method of evaluating crop condition, and thus shows promise as a new technique for the rapid selection of drought and aflatoxin resistant peanut genotypes. The objective of this study was to evaluate ground based reflectance measurements to more accurately quantify small differences in genotype response to drought conditions. In April 2004 several small plots (2 m x 2 m) were established at the Gibbs Farm research facilities in Tifton, GA. Treatments consisted five peanut genotypes encompassing a range of drought tolerance and yield characteristics arranged in a completely randomized block design. Drought conditions were simulated beginning 90 days after planting and maintained through harvest. Once drought conditions were established, a handheld radiometer was used to acquire twice weekly reflectance measurements in the visible and near infrared regions of the spectrum. Coincident with remotely sensed data collection standard visual ratings and soil water content (0-15cm) were acquired. Seasonal measurements included aflatoxin and yield measurements. Our results indicate that remotely sensing can provide more specific and timely estimates of genotype response to drought, and could be used to enhance breeding progress of drought and aflatoxin resistant peanut varieties.