Divisi
Groundnut rosette disease
· Viral
Photo: Dev ammar · CC BY-SA 4.0
Groundnut rosette is a virus disease of groundnuts, spread from plant to plant by tiny black aphids (a vector is any insect that carries a disease). Plants infected while young stay stunted and bushy and set few or no pods. It is one of the most damaging groundnut diseases in Africa and, in a bad year, can wipe out the whole crop.
Why it matters
Groundnut rosette is a virus carried by small aphids, and once a plant catches it there is no cure — no spray can bring it back. Plants hit while young stay small and bushy and make few or no nuts, and in a bad year a whole field can be lost — up to 100% of your crop. That is why everything here is about stopping it before it gets in: keeping the aphids off your young plants and pulling out the first sick ones fast.
When to act
Aphid colonies establishing on young plants, or the first stunted, yellow rosetted plants appearing in a late-sown or gappy crop.
This guidance is general, compiled from published agronomic references including FAO and CABI. Thresholds and timing shift with your crop, your variety and the season.
In much of the region a spray is simply called mushonga — medicine. But a chemical group you cannot name is one you cannot rotate, and a product you did not write down has no pre-harvest interval you can observe. Mushonga, and other farming words →
The full groundnut rosette disease field guide
- Identify it
- Scout for it
- Control it
15 field-guide sections in the app
The full guide to groundnut rosette disease — every symptom to check, how and when to walk your field looking for it, and the controls that actually work, ranked. Built into your crop plan, so you are told to look before it costs you a harvest.
Crops it affects
Frequently asked questions
How do I identify groundnut rosette disease?
The first thing you see: a few plants that stay short and bushy while the rest grow tall — the leaves are small, crowded and cupped, and the stem joints are so short the plant looks bunched up in a tight ball (a "rosette"), about the size of a fist instead of spreading out.
When should I take action against groundnut rosette disease?
Aphid colonies establishing on young plants, or the first stunted, yellow rosetted plants appearing in a late-sown or gappy crop.
How do I control groundnut rosette disease?
Prevent — grow a variety that fights back (your strongest tool): where you can get seed of a rosette-resistant variety, plant it. This is by far the most reliable protection in areas that get rosette outbreaks — it keeps working even when aphids are heavy, without any spraying.
Which crops does groundnut rosette disease affect?
Among the crops covered here: Groundnut.
Catch it before it costs you a harvest
Divisi builds scouting into your crop plan — it tells you when to walk your field, what to look for at that stage, and what to do when you find it. Free for farmers, works offline.
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