Effects of groundnut sowing date and plant spacing on rosette virus disease in Malawi

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Abstract
In a series of field trials at Chitedze, Malawi, groundnuts were sown at spacings of 30 cm, 7·5 cm and 2·5 cm within rows 90 cm apart. Contrasting sowing dates were approximately 1 December and 1 January. Immigration of alatae of Aphis craccivora Koch, monitored on observation plots, commenced 5–6 weeks after the emergence of early-sown groundnuts. Numbers of immigrant alatae were significantly greater on late-sown or open-spaced than on early-sown or close-spaced groundnuts, and were correlated with numbers of randomly distributed primary rosette virus infections. During observations, more alatae landed on 56–60-day-old plants than on 85–112-day-old plants. Similar numbers landed on 11–26-day-old plants at 30-cm and 2·5-cm spacing, but significantly more aphids settled on 30-cm spacing. The incubation period of rosette virus was consistently longer in 2·5-cm than in 30-cm spacing, and increased with plant age at inoculation. The virus was transmitted from a low proportion of infected plants before the appearance of rosette symptoms, and from a high proportion of plants snowing symptoms. The rate of spread of virus transmissions from inoculated sources within the crop varied significantly with spacing as 30 cm > 7·5 cm > 2·5 cm. Secondary spread of rosette varied, approximately, with the numbers of aphids per infected plant.