The spotted wilt of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), caused by Groundnut ringspot virus (GRSV), genus Tospovirus, has been observed with high severity in certain areas of the tobacco producing region of Alagoas. The spatial pattern of the disease was analysed in two areas (A and B), formed by four parcels each, located in the county of Arapiraca. The parcels were evaluated weekly by spatial mapping of healthy and spotted wilt tobacco plants, as well as by the disease incidence, represented by the number of plants with symptoms in relation to the total evaluated plants. Through the analyses of ordinary runs and spatial autocorrelation, a random pattern diseased plants was predominantly observed, although aggregation was also detected in a few cases. Although the possible effect of infected seedlings in the spatial pattern was not discarded, the most probable hypothesis is that the infections mainly occurred due to the primary inoculum transmitted by viruliferous thrips entering the parcels from external reservoirs.
