Surveys were conducted in rice fields in Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Nigeria, Togo and Niger to assess the importance of Rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV). Diseased leaf samples were collected. In Togo, surveys were made mainly in the southern part of the country, and in Benin, all areas where rice is grown were covered. Leaf samples were serologically confirmed by ACP ELISA as bearing RYMV, propagated and all conserved. One hundred and forty‐eight (148) Beninese and 27 Togolese strains were serotyped. They were also phenotyped on three susceptible accessions including IR 64, four resistant lines with known alleles on RYMV 1 gene namely TOG 5681 (rymv 1‐3), TOG 5672 (rymv 1‐4 and RYMV 2), TOG 5674 (rymv 1.5) and Gigante (rymv 1‐2). RYMV spots with 9–100% incidences were identified. Serotyping by triple antibody sandwich (TAS) ELISA indicated that two main groups S1 and S2 coexisted in Benin with S1 being prevalent. In Togo, 26 strains were S1 and only one was S2. Phenotyping of the 148 Beninese and 27 Togolese indicated that they all attacked the three susceptible accessions, while TOG 5681 (rymv 1‐3), TOG 5672 (rymv 1‐4 and RYMV 2), TOG 5674 (rymv 1‐5) and Gigante (rymv 1‐2) remained symptomless. The use of the genes/alleles above in these countries against the disease is discussed. Three representative Beninese strains were selected to screen 48 accessions for disease resistance. Nine accessions were as susceptible as IR 64 to all strains while six (NERICA 9, NERICA 12, NERICA 13, TOG 7291, WAB56‐50, CG 14 and Moroberekan) were very resistant. Susceptibility of the six ARICA and resistance of some NERICA lines could be explained by the fact that one or both parental lines were, respectively, susceptible or resistant to the strains.

Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] is a main legume food cultivated for its leaves and grains in Benin. However, cowpea production is limited by insect pests with flower bud thrips being the most damaging and can cause up to 100% yield loss. Host plant resistance is the best strategy to control the pest. This study aimed to screen Benin cowpea germplasm for resistance to flower bud thrips. Forty-eight accessions were evaluated under greenhouse conditions with reared flower bud thrips. Data were collected on thrips damage (score = 1-9), larvae and adults thrips counts in flowers, on yield and yield components. Data were subjected to analysis of variance, Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression analyses. Results showed that two thrips species (Megalurothrips sjostedti and Sericothrips occipitalis) attacked cowpea with M. sjostedti being the most dominant. The different collected populations of M. sjostedti caused similar damage to cowpea. Significant differences were observed among accessions for thrips damage, for yield and yield components. The accessions IT07K-243-1-10, Nontchè-Wagbèhamin, Kplobè-Wewe, Kpegnikoun, Kpodjiguegue, Moussa, IT86D-888, Sanzibanili and Sèwé were highly resistant to flower bud thrips by presenting low thrips damage and very few thrips counts in flower while Tiligré, IT83S-742-2 and IT84S-2246-4 were tolerant to thrips by presenting low thrips damage despite the presence of many thrips counts in flowers. These accessions could serve as resistance sources in breeding programs on cowpea in Benin.