Tikka disease of groundnut, caused by the fungi Cercospora personata and Cercospora arachidicola, results in significant yield loss due to leaf spotting and defoliation. The disease can be managed through cultural practices, resistant cultivars, and chemical treatments such as fungicides to effectively control infection. Key factors for infection include high humidity, with various management strategies recommended to mitigate its impact.

1. Tikka Disease of
Groundnut
Keshav Narayan Pai
Msc I
DOS in Botany

2. Content
• Introduction
• Causal Organism
• Symptoms
• Disease Cycle.
• Favourable Condition.
• Disease Management
• Conclusion
• Reference

3. Introduction
 Groundnut is the most important oilseed crop of India.
 The Total area under ground nut is about 8 million
hectares .
 Tikka disease is the major disease of groundnut in
India.
 It occurs in every state in India and in every ground
of nutgrowing countries of the world.
 In Uttar Pradesh, the disease is locally known
as chitwa or haldai.

4. Causal organism
• The causal organism for the tikka disease of ground nut are
Cercospora personata and Cercospora arachidicola.
• The Symptoms caused by the two pathogens will differ.
• This disease is also called Leaf spot of Ground nut because it causes
leaf spots on the leaves.

5. • Symptoms appear when the plants are 1or 2 months old.
• Due to excessive spotting on the leaves, there is gradual
weakening of the foliage which results in defoliation.
• Consequently, fewer and smaller nuts are formed .
• According to Sundarram(1965) severe intensity of
infection leads upto 22%reduction in yield.

6. Symptoms
 According to Woodruff(1933) designated the disease
caused by C.arachidicola as early spot and that caused by
C.personata as late spot.
 The first symptom of both the leaf spots is the appearance
of pale areas on the upper surface of older leaves.
 As the lesions develop the two species can be distinguished.

8. Early Leaf Spot Symptoms
• Sub-circular dark brown spots are
produced on the upper leaflet surface.
• The spots are of lighter shade of brown on
the lower side of the leaflets.
• Yellow halo is seen around the brown
spots.

9. spot on stem

10. Infected leaf

11.  Lateleafspotsarenearlycircularanddarkerthanearlyleaf
spots.Yellowhalodevelopsaroundeachonlyinlaterstageof
development.
 Lateleafspotscanbedistinguishedfromthoseofearlyleaf
spots.Lateleafspotsaredarkerwithnoorlightyellowhalo.
Late leaf spot

13. • The mycelium of C.arachidicola is inter and intracellular,
brown,septate and without haustoria.
• Conidophores are yellowish brown and as the conidium
remains attached to geniculation on conidiophore.
• Conidiophores are 22-44 micron long and 3-5 micron broad
continuous or 1-2 septate.

14.  Cercospora personata produces an intercellular branched
mycelium.
 To absorb food from the host tissue, haustoria are
developed.
 Lesions appears 2-4 weeks later.
 Conidiophores of C. personata are 25-54 micron long,
5-8 micron broad continuous or 1-2 septate.
 Conidia are terminal and each conidiophores bear each
single conidium at the apex.
 It is potentially more damaging because it produces more
spots, spreads faster and causes earlier defoliation

15. Perennation
 Thediseaseperpetuatesthroughconidialyinginthesoilon
diseasedplantdebrisandthroughconidiabeing carriedinthe
shellofgroundnut.
PrimaryInfection
 Whenthenewcropofgroundnutstartsgrowing,theviable
conidiaarebroughttothehostsurfacebyvariousagencies,
germinateinfavourableconditionsandcauseprimaryinfection.

16. Cont.....
Secondary infection
 The secondary infection on healthy plants
in the same field or adjacent fields is
brought by conidia produced on primary
infected leaves.
 The conidia are dispersed by air or other
agencies , which bring them on the healthy
leaves.
 Later they germinate in favourable
conditions and cause infection.

17. • Relative humidity is the most important factor
for infection.
• A period of three days of high humidity is
essential for maximum infection.
• Prolonged low temperature and dew also favour
severe infection.

18. • The application of potash slightly decreases
disease incidence.
• Leaf spot development is minimal when gypsum
is applied as a source of calcium.

19. • As the disease is soil-borne, proper crop rotation is important.
• Plant disease debris should be burnt to avoid soil borneinoculum.
• Early planting,alternation in date of sowing and use of maturing
varities helps to escape rom the attack of the disease.
• Growing moderately resistant cultivars like ICGV 89104, ICGV
91114 (EM), ICGV 920920, ICGV 92093 (MM).
• Foliage spray with Bordeaux Mixture (4:4:50),Dithane M-45 (0.2%),
Benlate and Bavistin (0.1%) gives good results.

20. Disease Management
• Cultural Method
1.Grow tolerant varieties can be grown wherever early leaf spot
is severe.
2.Intercropping pearl millet or sorghum with groundnut (1 : 3)
is useful in reducing the intensity of early leaf spot.
3.Crop rotation with non-host crops preferably cereals.
• Mechanical Method
1.Deep burying of crop residues in the soil, and removal of
volunteer groundnut plants are important measures to reduce
the primary source of infection

21. Cont..
 Biological Method
Foliar application of aqueous neem leaf extract (2-5%)
or 5% neem seed kernel extract at 2 weeks interval 3
times starting from 4 weeks after planting is good.
 Chemical Method
Spray carbendazim 0.1% or mancozeb 0.2% or
chlorothalonil 0.2%.

22. Conclusion
• Tikka Disease is a common disease in ground nut caused by
Cercospora arachidicola and Cercospora personata.
• In the diseased condition, many circulars spots appear on the
surface of the leaf .
• The conidia of the fungus present in soil or those present in
the fruit shell is the source of infection.
• Use of fungicides controls the disease.

23.  Mehrotra.R.S.(1980).PlantPathology.TataMc.GrawHillPub.CO.Ltd.
Pg.no-455-465.
 Rangaswamy,GandMahadevan,A(2002).Diseasesofcropplantsin
India,PrenticeHallofindia,Pvt.Ltd.Pg.no-334-343.
 www.flickr.pathology.Tikkadisease.Com

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