Assessment of the agronomic performance of twenty-two (22) peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) accessions against late leaf spot and groundnut rosette diseases in central Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract

Late leaf spot and groundnut rosette are major constraints to groundnut cultivation, especially in the second crop cycle in central Côte d’Ivoire. This study was initiated to improve peanut production. It was conducted on 22 peanut accessions using a randomized complete block design with three (03) replications. In each elementary plot, agromorphological, and health parameters were assessed on ten plants per accession. A symptom rating scale was used to assess disease severity. The results showed that the agromorphological parameters were higher in the first cycle than in the second. Accessions ARA42, ARA60, ARA56, and ARA51, moderately resistant or tolerant to groundnut rosette and susceptible to late leaf spot, gave the best seed yields in the second cycle, which varied between 1.42 and 1.59 tons per hectare (t/ha). Those highly susceptible to these parasitic diseases (ARA55, ARA40, ARA39, ARA54, ARA57, and ARA53) gave the lowest yields ranging from 0.131 to 0.996 t/ha over the same period. Groundnut rosette and late leaf spot attacks were less severe in the first crop cycle than in the second, with mean severity ranging from 36.5 to 51.5% and 24.9 to 55.5%, respectively. Accessions ARA42, ARA60, ARA56, and ARA51 should be the subject of a rigorous selection program and made available to growers. As a result, yield losses during the second crop cycle, from July to October, will be reduced, and the use of synthetic chemical pesticides in peanut cultivation will be limited.