Abstract
ABSTRACT Broomrape (Phelipanche ramosa) is an obligate root parasitic plant that is known to infest many important crops. It is emerging as a serious biotic threat for Brassica juncea cultivation in India. There is very limited information available about broomrape species and its infestation in B. juncea. Hence, the present study encompassed a comprehensive five-year field survey spanning from 2018 to 2023 of 47 different B. juncea fields in the states of Rajasthan and Haryana in India. The level of broomrape infestation varied from season to season and field to field. In the B. juncea fields, broomrape with blue/violet color corolla, along with occasionally white color type were also noticed. The hairy anther, corolla shape and use of mitochondrial DNA-specific molecular markers revealed that both these broomrape types belong to Phelipanche ramosa. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed that P. ramosa seeds have varying shapes and seed coat have fibrillar periclinal cell wall. In addition to all the known host species for P. ramosa till date, we also identified a new host, a wild Brassicaceae weed species; Lepidium didymum in Haryana. The presence of an alternative weed host may help P. ramosa survive even in the absence of major crop host species. Overall, the present study revealed some insights into the P. ramosa-B. juncea host-parasite complex and its effect on B. juncea which could be further investigated in more detail.
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