Effects of Cucumber mosaic virus on yield and yield components of peanut

Abstract

In Argentina, peanut (Arachis hypogaea) is naturally infected by Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), subgroup II. The study involved the evaluation of the effects on yield and yield components in response to CMV infection at different growth stages: 4-6 developed nodes on the main axis (V4-6), 12-16 developed nodes on the main axis (V12-16) and onset of bloom (R1). The results showed that CMV infection significantly reduces peanut seed yield, mainly due to a severe decrease in seed average weight which declined approximately by 30%, 20% and 11% when the virus was inoculated at V4-6, V12-16 and R1, respectively. The number of pods, seeds, and seeds per pod were affected only when the virus was inoculated at V4-6. The percentage of confectionery peanut was also significantly affected when CMV was inoculated at vegetative crop stages. In addition, seed size and weight/volume ratio were greatly affected by the virus since the infected plants produced a higher proportion of small seeds. Larger seeds decreased when the plants were infected at earlier growth stages. Finally, infected plants produced a significantly greater number of immature pods than the healthy ones.