The effectiveness of Celosia argentia (Striga chaser) to control Striga on Sorghum in Uganda

Field, screen house and laboratory studies were carried out to assess the capacity of Celosia argentia to control Striga on sorghum in Uganda. The field experiment was aimed at determining the effectiveness of inter-planting Celosia argentia into sorghum in the suppression of Striga and increasing sorghum yield. The screen house experiment looked at the optimum proportion of C argentia to be inter-planted into sorghum to effectively suppress Striga and maintain a good sorghum yield. The laboratory study was to quantify the capacity for C argentia to effect Striga seed germination. Inter-planting C argentia into sorghum reduced Striga emergence by an average of 55% in a season and increased the yield of a susceptible sorghum variety in the field by 35% compared to the sole sorghum treatment. Results of the screen house experiment showed that inter-planting C argentia into sorghum at a ratio of 2:1 suppressed Striga best by as much as 48% and resulted in the highest yield increase (100%) compared to the sole sorghum treatment. The laboratory study showed that C argentia could induce suicidal germination in Striga seed by as much as 68% compared to cotton which was taken to be the standard. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.