(Puccinia arachidis)
(c) A. M. Varela, icipe
Pustules (spots or blisters) can form on all aerial plant parts except flowers. Orange coloured pustules first appear on the lower surface of leaflets.
Later, pustules may appear on the upper surface of the leaflets.
The pustules on the stem are elongate and elevated.
The pustules when mature rupture to release masses of reddish-brown spores, which blown by wind, spread the disease from plant to plant and far away to other groundnut fields.
What to do:
- Plant resistant varieties if available.
- Remove volunteer groundnut plants from the field to check build-up of rust infection.
- Adopt cereal-cereal-groundnut crop rotation.
- Adjust the sowing time to avoid the most conducive environmental conditions for rust development i.e., high humidity, cloudy weather.