Abstract
Broomrapes are plant-parasitic weeds which constitute one of the most difficult-to-control of all biotic constraints that affect crops in Mediterranean, central and eastern Europe, and Asia. Due to their physical and metabolic overlap with the crop, their underground parasitism, their achlorophyllous nature, and hardly destructible seed bank, broomrape weeds are usually not controlled by management strategies designed for non-parasitic weeds. Instead, broomrapes are in current state of intensification and spread due to lack of broomrape-specific control programs, unconscious introduction to new areas and may be decline of herbicide use and global warming to a lesser degree. We reviewed relevant facts about the biology and physiology of broomrape weeds and the major feasible control strategies. The points of vulnerability of some underground events, key for their parasitism such as crop-induced germination or haustorial development are reviewed as inhibition targets of the broomrape-crop association. Among the reviewed strategies are those aimed (1) to reduce broomrape seed bank viability, such as fumigation, herbigation, solarization and use of broomrape-specific pathogens; (2) diversion strategies to reduce the broomrape ability to timely detect the host such as those based on promotion of suicidal germination, on introduction of allelochemical interference, or on down-regulating host exudation of germination-inducing factors; (3) strategies to inhibit the capacity of the broomrape seedling to penetrate the crop and connect with the vascular system, such as biotic or abiotic inhibition of broomrape radicle growth and crop resistance to broomrape penetration either natural, genetically engineered or elicited by biotic- or abiotic-resistance-inducing agents; and (4) strategies acting once broomrape seedling has bridged its vascular system with that of the host, aimed to impede or to endure the parasitic sink such as those based on the delivery of herbicides via haustoria, use of resistant or tolerant varieties and implementation of cultural practices improving crop competitiveness.
Highlights
The broomrapes are obligate plant-parasitic plants from the genera Orobanche and Phelipanche in the Orobanchaceae family (Bennett and Mathews, 2006; Tank et al, 2006; Joel, 2009)
Seed Conditioning Broomrape seed bank remains viable in the soil for many years until germination is triggered by the coincidence of several physical and chemical factors that are indicative of environmental conditions for successful seedling establishment: i.e., the nearby growth of a host plant in a physiological stage susceptible for broomrape invasion and subsequent parasitic reproductive growth (Linke and Saxena, 1991; López-Granados and García-Torres, 1996, 1999)
Sources of natural resistance based on reduced release of haustorium-inducing factors is a doubly interesting strategy to inhibit broomrape parasitism because it prevents broomrape parasitism in the current crop, and it promotes the demise of the seed bank by promoting suicidal germination
Summary
Broomrapes are plant-parasitic weeds which constitute one of the most difficult-tocontrol of all biotic constraints that affect crops in Mediterranean, central and eastern Europe, and Asia. Due to their physical and metabolic overlap with the crop, their underground parasitism, their achlorophyllous nature, and hardly destructible seed bank, broomrape weeds are usually not controlled by management strategies designed for non-parasitic weeds.
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