Recently I was sent images of a disease that looked somewhat like stem rot but not exactly. I discussed the images with Dan Anco, Barbara Shew and David Langston. It turns out that the most likely disease is false stem rot (perhaps it could have been slime mold.)  Either way, these are not an issue in peanuts but at first glance they can be alarming. If you see something like this and the mycelia can be swept away and are not infecting the stem, it is unlikely to be stem rot or Sclerotinia blight diseases that impact peanut yield. Of course, you can always send us images or plants to the insect and disease clinic at NC State to make sure.