Some soybean cultivars have ability to induce germination of sunflower broomrape.

Wei Zhang,Xiaoxin Ye,Junfeng Shui,Zhong Wang,Yongqing Ma

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0059715

Wei Zhang, Xiaoxin Ye + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0059715

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Abstract

Sunflower broomrape is a noxious parasitic weed which has caused severe damage to crop ecosystems. Trap crops can release a mixture of allelochemicals to induce the germination of sunflower broomrape. We studied the allelopathic effects of soybean on sunflower broomrape. Fourteen common soybean cultivars were grown in pots. Samples were collected from soybean plants and rhizosphere soil at five growth stages (V1, V3, V5, R2, and R4). The allelopathic effects of soybean reached highest at the V3 stage. Methanolic extracts of soybean roots induced higher broomrape germination than methanolic extracts of stems or leaves. The germination rates induced by root extracts (10-fold dilution) were positively correlated with germination rates induced by stem (10-fold dilution) and leaf extracts (10-fold dilution). The broomrape germination rates induced by root extracts were also positively correlated with soybean nodule diameter and dry weight. The results indicated that soybeans could induce sunflower broomrape germination. We conclude that soybean has the potential to be used as a trap crop for sunflower broomrape.

Highlights

Parasitic plants take up water and/or nutrients from their host plants, often resulting in a reduction in host plant growth
The germination rate of sunflower broomrape seeds treated with GR24 ranged between 70 and 80%
Sunflower broomrape germination was induced by contact with rhizosphere soil; the germination rates were all less than 30% (Fig. 1)

Summary

Introduction

Parasitic plants take up water and/or nutrients from their host plants, often resulting in a reduction in host plant growth. Parasitic weed infestations cause significant crop loss in many countries [1,2,3,4]. Researchers have proposed a number of methods for controlling broomrape These methods include hand-weeding, adjustment of sowing dates, herbicide application, selection and breeding of resistant crop cultivars, and use of trap or catch crops [7,8,9,10,11,12]. Among these methods, the use of trap crops is most promising. The broomrape seedlings die for lack of nutritional support, a process termed ‘‘suicide germination’’, reducing the broomrape seed bank

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