Marius Mintu Diedhiou Nalla Mbaye, Alioune Sall, Alhousseynou Sarr, Cheikh Dieye,
Mamadou Mboup, Maodo Malick Cisse
and Papa Madiallacké Diedhiou, from the institute of the Sénégal. Wrote a
research article about, Fungal Pathogens of Groundnut Across Senegal. Entitled,
Distribution of fungal pathogens of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) across the
agro-ecological zones of Senegal. This research paper published by the International journal of Microbiology and Mycology | IJMM. an open access scholarly research
journal on Microbiology. under the affiliation of the International
Network For Natural Sciences| INNSpub. an open access multidisciplinary
research journal publisher.
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.
Introduction
Groundnut (Arachis
hypogaea L.) is a member of the Fabaceae family originating from southern Bolivia
and northern Argentina (Stalker, 2017). It is cultivated in more than 100
countries (Ntare et al., 2008) and ranks fourth among the most widely
cultivated oilseed crops in the world, with a production of 57.56 million tons
in 2024 (FAOSTAT, 2025b).
More than half of the
global production comes from China and India, followed by Nigeria and the
United States, with much lower production levels (FAOSTAT, 2025a). According to
FAOSTAT (2026), Senegal was the world's seventh-largest groundnut producer in 2024.
In Senegal, groundnut is cultivated mainly in the Groundnut Basin and the
southern regions (DAPSA, 2023). It is a crop of great economic and strategic
importance as it represents one of the main sources of income for rural
households (ANSD, 2021). Peanut is the leading cash crop in terms of cultivated
area, with 1,225,172 hectares (i.e., 70% of the area devoted to cash crops),
and in terms of production volume, with 1,501,498 tons in 2022 (DAPSA, 2023).
In January 2023, Senegal’s export volume increased by 32.3% due to a strong
substantial shipments of unroasted groundnuts, with a monetary value rising
from 1.2 billion CFA francs to 46.0 billion CFA francs (ANSD, 2023). The
production is intended for household consumption, but also for both industrial
and artisanal oil processing of oil (Noba et al., 2014). Groundnut kernels
contain, on average, 48 to 50% oil and 26 to 28% protein and represent a rich
source of dietary fiber, minerals, and vitamins (Ntare et al., 2008). Alongside
groundnut haulms, the press cake is extensively used as a high-protein feed
supplement for livestock (Schmidt and Mejia, 2014).
However, despite its
importance for the country, the yields are still low (around 1.3 t/ha) compared
to countries like China and Argentina, with 4 t/ha and 3.4 t/ha, respectively
(FAOSTAT, 2025b). These low yields could be attributed to different factors
such as poor climatic conditions and associated weather phenomena (irregular
rainfall), as well as the limited use of organic and mineral fertilizers on soils
that are often very poor (CIRAD, 2021).
In addition to these
abiotic constraints, groundnut is subjected to a strong pest pressure, which
represents the main constraint to its production (Surendra et al., 2015).
Various phytopathogenic fungi are responsible for diseases affecting groundnut.
Among these fungal agents, the genus Cercospora (responsible for early and late
leaf spot) and the genus Puccinia (responsible for peanut rust) have been
extensively studied. The symptoms caused by these pathogens are observed on
leaves, with a reduction of the photosynthetic capacity of the plant in
addition to competition for plant metabolites (Zinsou et al., 2019). In
addition to these two major diseases, other foliar diseases are commonly
observed on this crop. Therefore, a good understanding of the disease pressure
and the causal agents in the different production basins should form the
backbone of an efficient control strategy and represents an important step
towards improving of productivity and competitiveness.
The present study was
therefore conducted with the objectives of identifying and characterizing the
fungal pathogens of groundnut, as well as determining the incidence and
severity of the two main diseases affecting this crop, namely leaf spot and groundnut
rust, in different agro-ecological zones of Senegal.
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