Peanut Leaf Spot Disease Complex: Escalating Threats in the Era of Climate Change

Background and Objective: The rise in pathogenic species populations of significance to agriculture in arable land is projected to assume an upward trajectory across natural ecosystems in response to the foreseen climate change patterns, with notably dire repercussions on agricultural value chains. The leaf spot disease complex (early and late leaf spots) still ranks as the most significant foliar disease of peanut (Arachis hypogaea). Therefore, this study aimed to review the epidemiology of peanut leaf spot disease complex in the context of a changing climate and management recommendations. Materials and Methods: The study surveyed scholarly knowledge in several recently published research articles on a wide range of peanut phyto-pathological aspects. Relevant publications and secondary data were sourced from reputable journal websites, filtered to the scope of this study, synthesized, critiqued and analyzed using the authors’ vast experience. Results: Knowledge gaps still exist on the exact role of climate change parameters such as sporadic rainfall patterns, fluctuating temperature, elevated humidity in peanut leaf spot disease spread and, how their association with phyto-pathogenic ecologies affects crop health and natural biodiversity. Being cardinal peanut pathogens, detailed studies of Cercospora arachidicola and Cercosporidium personatum have revealed crucial aspects of their ecology in connection to peanut and symptoms of virulence thereafter. Conclusion: Accurate inference of the pathogens’ biology to the development of effective and sustainable management protocols is key to averting the huge losses incurred from the disease. Applied and adaptive research priorities should encompass major factors of disease establishment and development, such as soil microbial diversity and how they respond to the changing climate, thereby providing a strong scientific ground for innovations targeting disease prediction and control.