EFFECT OF NEW PEANUT CULTIVAR GEORGIA BROWNE ON EPIDEMICS OF SPOTTED WILT

Epidemics of spotted wilt, caused by tomato spotted wilt tospovirus, were monitored in plantings of peanut (Arachis hypogaea) cultivars Georgia Browne, Southern Runner, and Florunner in five tests during 1990-1993 at Attapulgus, Georgia, and in plantings of the three cultivars plus Marc I and AT-127 in three tests in Colquitt County, Georgia, in 1993. Final incidence of spotted wilt and area under the disease progress curve values for Georgia Browne were similar to those for Southern Runner but lower than those for Florunner, Mare I, and AT-127. Pod yields for Georgia Browne were higher than those for Florunner in all tests at both locations and higher than those for the four other cultivars in Colquitt County in 1993. Pod yields were similar for Georgia Browne and Southern Runner in five tests in Attapulgus. Numbers of tobacco thrips (Frankliniella fusca), western flower thrips (F. occidentalis), or larvae of undifferentiated Frankliniella spp, that colonized the cultivars were similar in most cases. Differences among the cultivars in incidence of spotted wilt could not be attributed to differences in thrips populations.