Abstract
Striga asiatica (witchweed) is a parasitic weed that is a serious threat to maize (Zea mays L.) production in semi-arid environments in Africa. A pot experiment was conducted under glasshouse conditions to screen nine maize cultivars for their tolerance / tolerance to Striga infection at the University of Zimbabwe in the 2012 / 2013 rainfall season. Striga did not significantly (P > 0.05) reduce the final maize height of the maize cultivars, with the exception of three maize cultivars, namely, PHB3253, PHB30G19 and PHB30B50. Furthermore Striga did not significantly (P > 0.05) reduce the stem biomass, leaf biomass and cob biomass of all the maize cultivars evaluated. Generally the maize cultivars had significantly (P < 0.05) higher root / shoot ratios in the Striga infected plants compared to the uninfected plants. It was concluded that all the maize genotypes used in this study could possibly be tolerant to S. asiatica.
Highlights
Maize (Zea mays L.) is the third largest grain crop in the world after wheat (Triticum aestivum) and rice (Oryza sativa) (Chantereau & Nicou, 1994)
It was observed in this study that the maize genotypes LANDRACE 1, SIRDA MAIZE and R201 are tolerant to S. asiatica infection and have a potential to be grown in Striga endemic areas where most of the resource poor farmers are located
The data on stem heights showed that all the maize genotypes with the exception of PHB3253, PHB30B50 and PHB30G19, were not sensitive to Striga infection
Summary
Maize (Zea mays L.) is the third largest grain crop in the world after wheat (Triticum aestivum) and rice (Oryza sativa) (Chantereau & Nicou, 1994). It is the staple food of the 12.5 million inhabitants of Zimbabwe and is grown throughout the country including dry marginal areas of Natural Regions IV and V that receive between 450 mm to 650 mm rainfall annually. Technologies for the control of Striga developed so far have not been widely adopted, because there is a mismatch between technologies and the farmers’ socio-economic conditions (Debrah, 1994) These range from cultural methods, chemical and genetic transformation of hosts. As a result smallholder farmers abandon these methods or do not invest time and money in adoption, because effective Striga control cannot be guaranteed in the current season with concomitant pay-offs in yield (Hearne, 2009)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
