Several farms adjacent to the Kenyan coastline are infected by the witch weed (Striga asiatica). The smallholder farmers in coastal Kenya cannot afford expensive methods of crop husbandry. The cultural methods that have been used by the farmers, such as hand pulling and planting at the onset of rains, have not helped much in reducing Striga menace in the region. Please share your experiences.
Please also take a look at these useful links.
Experiment Findings Review the biology, ecology and management of striga weed in Ethiopia
Article Comparative Analysis on the Management of the Parasitic Weed...
Article Intercropping controls Striga in maize based farming systems
http://www.kalro.org/fileadmin/publications/tech_notes/TecNote19_20060810.pdf
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c464/b07a9d245fb6e499eeb1c415f11811ee912e.pdf
Hi Hemedi,
I am afraid that parasitic Orobanchaceae such as Striga and Orobanche are really difficult to manage and control, even using expensive methods. The traditional low cost methods that could help being integrated together for a low cost strategy are:
- Hand weeding: scarcely helps to reduce damage to the existing crop, but prevents further spread of new seeds and increasing the seed bank in the soil.
- Sanitary measures: this is an important key point: if the infestation into other fields continues and the levels in the bank soil increase with time the management become worst. Cleaning tools after hand weeding or other labour task in infested fields should be considered, in addition to being careful sowing seeds coming from infested fields.
- Transplanting and deep sowing: It reduces infestation by giving the crop a time advantage and renders it more competitive with the parasitic plant (Van Ast et al., (2005) Crop Protection 24: 1023-1034). Deep sowing can also reduce infestation and even the seed bank, mainly if combined with no-tillage (van Delft et al., (2000) Integrated Journal of Pest Management 46: 251-256).
- Enhancing soil fertility: Phosphate, and in some cases nitrogen, deficiency play an important role inducing sinthesys of strigolactones in the host plant, the chemicals responsible for Striga seeds germination. Increasing the level of P (and N) in the soil by fertilizer application could reduce germination and consequently the infestation rates. There are several papers dealing with this, for example: Riches et al. (2005) Aspects of Applied Biology 75: 127-138; Jamil et al. (2012) Field Crop Research 134: 1-10; Ransom (2000) Crop Protection 19: 759-763.
- Intercropping with other crops: groundnut, cowpea, soybean, pigeon pea, cotton, Desmodium, or yellow gram are crops that have been described as helpful in reducing Striga infestation by rotating or intercropping them with the ceral crop.
I hope this could be of some help, at least for alleviate the damage the farmers are suffering.
Kind regards.
Hi Alejandro,
Thank you for your response. This is useful information that you have shared with me. I am still waiting for other experiences.
The best method is growing cereals in alternate years.
Western research indicates that seed treatment with Pseudomonas fluorescen (Pseudomonads) helps in reducing incidence.
From my experiences and observations in Tanzania, Ethiopia and Rwanda I conclude: 1) Crop-Rotation: Striga was always associated with sorghum and maize; thus strict rotation with dicotyledones (leguminous crops, sunflower, sesamum, etc.) was essential;
2) Handweeding remains a priority for smallholders; (strict removal of any Striga before the plant gets old and big)
3) Interrrow-tine-cultivation in row-crops;
4) Muliching with all sorts of organic matter;
5) Stone-mulching, where flat stones abound.
6) I advise to interview smallholders: each village has some 2 or 3 clever agro-women and men, who know special local tricks & tips from experience + observation..
Follow the crop rotation with cereal crops. Somehow they do not affect cereal crops.
Secondly treat the seed or do the seed priming with Pseudomonas formulations.
Remove the weeds before flowering from the affected crop .
I hope these methods will help resource poor farmers.
Dear Himade
Please follow these methods. these are proven as best methods and we are following these methods
Preventive, Physical and cultural methods
• Use of clean seeds
• Deep ploughing
• Soil solarization with 0.05 mm thick white polyethylene sheets
• Flooding of field during germination of parasite
• Physical removal and burning
• Growing catch crops like fodder maize, seteria etc
• Growing trap crops like cotton, gram, cowpea, green gram etc.
• Growing suitable intercropping
• Improving soil fertility through manures and fertilizers because striga infestation is more in nitrogen deficit soil. you observe this condition under poor organic content.
• Suitable legislation to restrict movement of seeds
Chemical management
• 2,4-D Na salts at 1.5 to 2.0 kg ha-1
• Injection of stimulants to soil like strigol, GR 7, GR 45, ethylene 0.1 to 1.0 kg ha-1
• Ethylene and methyl bromide fumigation
Thank you
Hi Dr. Sunil,
Thank you very much for your answer. I shall explore the useful tips you have given me.
Please also take a look at these useful links.
Experiment Findings Review the biology, ecology and management of striga weed in Ethiopia
Article Comparative Analysis on the Management of the Parasitic Weed...
Article Intercropping controls Striga in maize based farming systems
http://www.kalro.org/fileadmin/publications/tech_notes/TecNote19_20060810.pdf
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c464/b07a9d245fb6e499eeb1c415f11811ee912e.pdf
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