Journal
PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
Volume 72, Issue 11, Pages 2035-2042Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/ps.4215
Keywords
parasitic weeds; Striga hermonthica; suicidal germination; strigolactone mimic
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Funding
- Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
- Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) under a joint programme of Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS)
- Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Japan [26450019, 15H05248]
- Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research [15H05248, 26450019] Funding Source: KAKEN
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BACKGROUNDPurple witchweed (Striga hermonthica), Orobanchaceae, is an obligate root-parasitic weed of important cereal crops. The parasite is a copious seed producer, and a huge seed bank develops soon after the onset of the initial infestation. To germinate, a Striga seed requires a pretreatment in a moist warm environment and a subsequent exposure to an exogenous stimulant. One approach to reduce the seed bank is artificially to induce germination of the seeds in the absence of or away from the host roots. A newly developed germination stimulant for S. hermonthica, designated as T-010, was evaluated for efficacy in greenhouse and field experiments under artificial Striga infestation. RESULTST-010 displayed germination-inducing activity in soil. Formulated T-010 applied at 0.1, 1 and 10 kg ai ha(-1) to potted soil containing S. hermonthica seeds, previously conditioned by judicious irrigation, reduced Striga emergence by 94-100%. Results of a field trial showed that formulated T-010, at the same rates as for the pot experiment, delayed and reduced Striga emergence by 33% and increased sorghum shoot and head dry weight by 18.7-40.2% and 187-241% respectively. CONCLUSIONThese findings demonstrated, for the first time, the technical feasibility of suicidal germination for controlling S. hermonthica. Optimising structure, formulation and application protocol of germination stimulants should be the main goal for further improvement of the technology. (c) 2016 Society of Chemical Industry
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