Progress in breeding early maturing peanut cultivars with resistance to groundnut rosette disease in West Africa

Rosette is the most destructive virus disease of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in Sub-Saharan Africa. Resistant cultivars have the greatest potential for minimizing the risk of losses due to the disease. The objectives of this study were to develop and evaluate new peanut breeding lines for reaction to rosette disease and determine their yield potential. Rosette-resistant parents were crossed with early maturing susceptible spanish types. The F2, F4, and F5 generations were grown in a rosette disease screening nursery. A modified bulk-pedigree method was followed in which the populations were grown in bulk until F4. Single plant selections were made in F4-derived F5 progenies. Yield assessment began with F7 lines from 1996 to 1998 growing seasons at three sites. High yielding rosette resistant lines with a maturity range of 90 to 115 d were identified. Some of these new lines produced pod yields significantly higher than the previously developed resistance varieties. Promising lines have been made available to researchers in West and Central Africa and should contribute to an integrated rosette disease management progra