Screening <i>Arachis hypogaea</i> genotypes for resistance to Cercospora leaf spots in North Cameroon

Abstract

Early and late leaf spots caused by Cercospora arachidicola Hori and Cercosporidium personatum (Berk. & Curt.) Deighton are among the major biotic constraints to groundnut production in Sub-Saharan Africa. A two-year field screening experiment was conducted in 2001 and 2002 at the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD) farm, Maroua to identify resistant genotypes for the groundnut breeding programme. The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) nine-point scale was used for Cercospora severity rating. Groundnut genotypes were grouped into various classes of resistance to leaf spots using the method suggested by the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (WECARD). The results indicate that no genotype was immune to both leaf spots or resistant to late leaf spot. The genotype ICGV 91225 was found to be resistant to early leaf spot and could be used as donor parent for early leaf spot resistance breeding. The genotypes ICG 6902, #3-94, SAMNUT 22 and SAMNUT 21, which performed better than the resistant check GP-NC 343 in terms of disease severity at harvest, could be sources of resistance for late leaf spot resistance breeding. Keywords: Groundnut, breeding, immune, resistance , donor parent Cameroon Journal of Experimental Microbiology Vol. 4 (2) 2008: pp. 67-74