Field evaluation for the combination of white mould and tomato spotted wilt disease resistance among peanut genotypes

White mould, stem rot, and southern blight are caused by the same soilborne fungus, Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc. and when combined with tomato spotted wilt caused by Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), result in major disease problems in the cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.). These disease problems are universal and occur not only in the southeast U.S.A. but also in most peanut production areas. Consequently, there is an increasing need for genotypic resistance as the most cost effective way to reduce the financial loss due to the combination of these two diseases. During five years (2004–08), several advanced breeding lines and recently released peanut cultivars from the Georgia peanut breeding program were evaluated for combined resistance to both pathogens. The best combination of white mould and TSWV resistance and highest yield over multiple years was consistently found in the recently released medium-maturity, runner-type peanut cultivars, Georgia-07W, Georgia-03L, and AP-3. However, all of the other Georgia cultivars and advanced Georgia breeding lines were also found to be either similar or significantly better than the check cultivars C-99R and Florida-07.