USDA-ARS researchers are collaborating with colleagues from the Foundation for the Study of Invasive Species (FuEDEI) in Argentina to cultivate and identify the different pathotypes of peanut smut in South America. The peanut smut, Thecaphora frezzii, is a soil-borne fungus that affects peanut production by affecting normal pod development and seeds to completely replacing seed mass with spore mass. In Argentina, peanut smut is the most significant threat to production. This is of interest to USDA-ARS because of the potential spread of smut disease, particularly if smut incidence increases with climate change.
Sample collection in different peanut-producing regions in Argentina, as well as wild peanuts, will provide information on the diversity of peanut smuts in the area of origin of the crop. Such research assists in understanding how and why pathogens spread or can become invasive, which will assist in their proper management.