Distribution of fungal pathogens of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) across the agro-ecological zones of Senegal
Paper Details
Distribution of fungal pathogens of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) across the agro-ecological zones of Senegal
Abstract
In Senegal, groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is one of the main sources of income for rural farming households. Despite its importance, production is increasingly compromised by various pests-most notably phytopathogenic fungi. These organisms pose a dual threat, undermining agricultural yields while simultaneously jeopardizing consumer safety through mycotoxin. The incidence and spatial dissemination of fungal pathogens are closely tied to the specific environmental and climatic parameters of the cultivation area. This present study was therefore carried out through surveys, to diagnose the main fungal diseases of groundnut throughout the main production areas in Senegal. The surveys were conducted in six regions (Ziguinchor, Kolda, Tambacounda, Kaffrine, Louga and Thiès), covering the four peanut producing agro-ecological zones of the country, namely the Groundnut Basin Agricultural Zone, the Ferlo Sylvo-Pastoral Zone, the Central and Southeastern Agro-Sylvo-Pastoral Zone, and the Southern Forest Zone (Casamance). In each region, three sites were visited and, for each site, five fields were surveyed. Disease incidence and severity were recorded for all symptomatic plants displaying cercospora leaf spot and rust. In cases where field identification was inconclusive, representative samples were collected for subsequent laboratory isolation and fungal characterization. The results led to the identification of 19 fungal genera associated with 15 types of symptoms: Curvularia, Colletotrichum, Fusarium, Pythium, Rhizoctonia, Macrophomina, Alternaria, Bipolaris, Rhizopus, Nigrospora, Cercospora, Phomopsis, Gliocladium, Aspergillus, Chaetomium, Phoma, Cladosporium, Lasiodiplodia and Puccinia. The most frequent genera were Curvularia (27.23%), Colletotrichum (20.59%) and Fusarium (15.10%). Cercospora leaf spot and peanut rust were the predominant diseases in the Groundnut Basin. Their severity level reached up to 51.83% for cercospora leaf spot and 29.33% for peanut rust. This study highlights the diversity of fungal diseases associated with groundnut and provides a scientific basis for the development of management strategies.
ANSD. 2021. Situation économique et sociale régionale 2019. p. 97. https://www.ansd.sn/sites/default/files/2022-12/SES-Tambacounda-2019.pdf
ANSD. 2023. Hausse des exportations du Sénégal au mois de janvier 2023. Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de la Démographie (ANSD) du Sénégal. https://www.ansd.sn/flash-stat/hausse-des-exportations-du-senegal-au-mois-de-janvier-2023
ANSD. 2025. SESN/Chapitre: Agriculture. Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de la Démographie (ANSD) du Sénégal. https://www.ansd.sn/Indicateur/sesnchapitre-agriculture
Ashish J, Nadaf HL, Gangadhara K. 2014. Genetic analysis of rust and late leaf spot in advanced generation recombinant inbred lines of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.). International Journal of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology 5(2), 109–114.
Ba B. 2006. Etude géographique de l’agriculture en Afrique noire: Analyse des productions céréalières et des systèmes alimentaires au Sénégal. Université de Genève. https://doi.org/10.13097/archive-ouverte/unige:442
Barnett HL, Hunter BB. 2006. Illustrated Genera of Imperfect Fungi. 4th ed. The American Phytopathological Society.
Chaudhari S, Khare D, Patil SC, Sundravadana S, Variath MT, Sudini HK, Manohar SS, Bhat RS, Pasupuleti J. 2019. Genotype × environment studies on resistance to late leaf spot and rust in genomic selection training population of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.). Frontiers in Plant Science 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2019.01338
Chiang KS, Liu HI, Bock CH. 2017. A discussion on disease severity index values. Part I: Warning on inherent errors and suggestions to maximise accuracy. Annals of Applied Biology 171(2), 139–154. https://doi.org/10.1111/aab.12362
CIRAD. 2021. La pauvreté des sols et la faible fertilisation en Afrique masquent les effets du changement climatique sur les cultures. CIRAD. https://www.cirad.fr/espace-presse/communiques-de-presse/2020/adapter-la-fertilisation-des-cultures-en-afrique-au-contexte-du-changement-climatique
DAPSA. 2023. Rapport EAA 2022–2023. Direction de l’Analyse, de la Prévision et des Statistiques Agricoles (DAPSA). https://www.dapsa.gouv.sn/content/rapporteaa-20222023
Debele S, Ayalew A. 2015. Integrated management of Cercospora leaf spots of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) through host resistance and fungicides in Eastern Ethiopia. African Journal of Plant Science 9(2), 82–89. https://doi.org/10.5897/AJPS2014.1260
Dieye C. 2022. Mise au point d’une stratégie de lutte intégrée pour le contrôle de la maladie de la malformation du manguier (Mangifera indica L.) au Sénégal. Université Cheikh Anta Diop.
El-Gholl NE, Alfieri SA Jr, Ridings WH, Schoulties CL. 1982. Growth and sporulation in vitro of Cercospora apii, Cercospora arachidicola, Cercospora kikuchii, and other species of Cercospora. Canadian Journal of Botany 60(6), 862–868. https://doi.org/10.1139/b82-111
FAOSTAT. 2025a. Crops and Livestock Products Database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, Italy. Available from: https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL (Accessed 31 July 2026).
FAOSTAT. 2025b. Cultures et produits animaux. https://www.fao.org/faostat/fr/#data/QCL
FAOSTAT. 2026. Crops and Livestock Products Database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy. Available from: FAOSTAT (Accessed 31 July 2026).
Faye M, Fall A, Faye CS, Faye B, Ndiaye A. 2019. Evolution pluvio-thermique de 1950 à 2013 au Sénégal oriental: Cas de la région de Tambacounda. International Journal of Advanced Research 7(12), 270–287. https://doi.org/10.21474/IJAR01/10152
Geng Y, Wang JG, Zhang JL, Chen G, Yu JH, Li YT, Ma LG. 2022. First report of Cladosporium tenuissimum causing leaf spot of Arachis hypogaea in China. Plant Disease 106(10), 2754. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-11-21-2461-PDN
Ijaz M, Ali SR, Afzal A. 2019. Impact of crop rotation on Cercospora leaf spot of peanut. Plant Protection 3(1). https://doi.org/10.33804/pp.003.01.0111
Kim SM, Kim S, Lee J, Choi SY, Chung H, Chun J, Seo BY, Lim JR, Choi NJ. 2024. First report of Nigrospora oryzae causing leaf spot on peanut (Arachis hypogaea) in the Republic of Korea. Plant Disease 108(10), 3202. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-05-24-0954-PDN
Koffi AMH, Yah NM, Koffi NBC, Koffi CY, Atta THD. 2020. Symptomatologie de la flore fongique infectant les feuilles d’accessions d’Arachis hypogaea L. (Fabaceae) provenant de Vavoua (centre-ouest) et Séguéla (nord-ouest) de la Côte d’Ivoire. Journal of Animal & Plant Sciences 46(2), 8240–8255. https://doi.org/10.35759/JAnmPlSci.v46-2.7
Korkom Y, Özgün G, Yıldız A. 2025. Comparison of different media for isolating endophytic fungi from plant tissues of Citrus species. Turkish Journal of Agricultural and Natural Sciences 12(4), 1068–1074.
https://doi.org/10.30910/turkjans.1673786
Kumar N, Dutta R, Ajay BC, Radhakrishnan T. 2022. Alternaria leaf blight (Alternaria spp.)—An emerging foliar fungal disease of winter-summer groundnut (Arachis hypogaea): A review. The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 92(9), 1043–1050. https://doi.org/10.56093/ijas.v92i9.111299
Li M, Chen L, Wang Q, He L, Duan Y, Mao X, Zhou L. 2025. Species identification and fungicide sensitivity of Fusarium spp. causing peanut root rot in Henan, China. Journal of Fungi 11(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/jof11060433
Li Y, Song X, He K, Yu J, Xu M, Guo Z, Wang X, Zhang X. 2024. First report of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides causing anthracnose on peanut in Chongqing, China. Plant Disease 108(2), 533. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-10-23-2225-PDN
Martínez-Salgado SJ, Romero-Arenas O, Morales-Mora LA, Luna-Cruz A, Rivera-Tapia JA, Silva-Rojas HV, Andrade-Hoyos P. 2021. First report of Macrophomina phaseolina causing charcoal rot of peanut (Arachis hypogaea) in Mexico. Plant Disease 105(9), 2722. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-02-21-0337-PDN
Nakalembe C, Frimpong DB, Kerner H, Sarr MA. 2025. A 40-year remote sensing analysis of spatiotemporal temperature and rainfall patterns in Senegal. Frontiers in Climate 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2025.1462626
Ndour K, Faye E, Touré MA. 2023. Influence of Anacardium occidentale L. on the growth and yield of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in the Groundnut Basin in Senegal. Journal of Chemical, Biological and Physical Sciences 13(4), 461–473. https://doi.org/10.24214/jcbps.B.13.4.46072
Noba K, Ngom A, Guèye M, Bassene C, Kane M, Diop I, Ndoye F, Mbaye M, Kane A, Ba A. 2014. L’arachide au Sénégal: État des lieux, contraintes et perspectives pour la relance de la filière. OCL 21, D205. https://doi.org/10.1051/ocl/2013039
Ntare BR, Diallo AT, Ndjeunga J, Waliyar F. 2008. Groundnut Seed Production Manual. 20 p.
Prechsl UE, Rizzoli W, Marschall K, Jasper Wubs ER. 2023. Fungicide-free management of Alternaria leaf blotch and fruit spot on apple indicates Alternaria spp. as secondary colonizer. Scientific Reports 13(1), 8431. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-35448-2
Savary S. 1986. Etudes épidémiologiques sur la rouille de l’arachide en Côte d’Ivoire. https://doi.org/10.18174/202110
Schmidt OG, Mejia D. 2014. Oilseeds: Post-harvest Operations. https://www.sidalc.net/search/Record/dig-fao-it-20.500.14283-AV010E/Description
Stalker HT. 2017. Utilizing wild species for peanut improvement. Crop Science 57(3), 1102–1120. https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2016.09.0824
Surendra V, Sunil Zacharia SZ, Reddy KR, Reddy NPE, Chowdappa P. 2015. Effect of different media on growth and sporulation of Cercospora arachidicola causing early leaf spot of groundnut. The Bioscan 10(4 Suppl.), 1665–1668.
Terna TP, Joseph N, Okogbaa JI. 2024. Identification and pathogenicity of fungi responsible for foliar diseases of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in Lafia. Proceedings of the Faculty of Science Conferences 1, 89–92. https://doi.org/10.62050/fscp2024.508
Uppala SS, Zhou XG, Liu B, Wu M. 2019. Plant-based culture media for improved growth and sporulation of Cercospora janseana. Plant Disease 103(3), 504–508. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-05-18-0814-RE
Větrovský T, Kohout P, Kopecký M, Machac A, Man M, Bahnmann BD, Brabcová V, Choi J, Meszárošová L, Human ZR, Lepinay C, Lladó S, López-Mondéjar R, Martinović T, Mašínová T, Morais D, Navrátilová D, Odriozola I, Štursová M, et al. 2019. A meta-analysis of global fungal distribution reveals climate-driven patterns. Nature Communications 10(1), 5142. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13164-8
Watanabe T. 2002. Pictorial Atlas of Soil and Seed Fungi: Morphologies of Cultured Fungi and Key to Species. 2nd ed. CRC Press.
Xu M, Zhang X, Yu J, Guo Z, Li Y, Wu J, Chi Y. 2021. First report of Fusarium ipomoeae causing peanut leaf spot in China. Plant Disease 105(11), 3754. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-01-21-0226-PDN
Zinsou VA, Garba Say L, Fanou A, Sekloka E, Koussinou C, Djenontin AJ, Aweha A, Dramane M, Korogone C, Gagnon F. 2019. Importance des cercosporioses de l’arachide et sélection des variétés pour la résistance aux maladies au Bénin. Tropicultura. https://doi.org/10.25518/2295-8010.1416
Marius Mintu Diedhiou*, Nalla Mbaye, Alioune Sall, Alhousseynou Sarr, Cheikh Dieye, Mamadou Mboup, Maodo Malick Cisse, Papa Madiallacké Diedhiou, 2026. Distribution of fungal pathogens of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) across the agro-ecological zones of Senegal. Int. J. Microbiol. Mycol., 23(1), 1-12.
Copyright © 2026 by the Authors. This article is an open access article and distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) license.