Abstract
The parasitic plant Striga hermonthica (Delile) Benth. is stimulated to germinate by biomolecules (strigolactones) produced in the roots of host and some non-host plants. Non-hosts induce Striga’s suicidal germination and are therefore used as trap crops. Among trap crops, the Slenderleaf legume in the genus Crotalaria (Crotalaria brevidens (L.) Benth.) and (Crotalaria orchroleuca (G.) Don.) has been popularized in African smallholder farms. However, the Striga germination efficiency of these locally grown Crotalaria varieties (landraces) is unknown. Also unclear is Crotolaria’s extent to inhibiting Striga growth, post germination. Extensive parasite penetration can expose the trap crop to secondary infections and possible phytotoxicity from Striga. We used in vitro germination assays to determine the Striga germination efficiency of 29 Crotalaria landraces. Furthermore, we determined Crotalaria’s ability to inhibit Striga attachment and growth using histological analysis. We found that: i) Crotalaria stimulated germination of Striga seeds at frequencies ranging between 15.5% and 54.5% compared to 74.2% stimulation by the synthetic strigolactone (GR24) used a positive control; ii) Crotalaria blocked Striga entry at multiple levels and did not allow growth beyond the pericycle, effectively blocking vascular connection with the non-host. Hence, Crotalaria is suitable as a trap crop in integrated Striga management.
Highlights
The Striga genus belong to Orobanchaceae family which comprise more than 2000 species of parasitic plants that parasitize major tropical cereals and some legumes [1]
Germination frequencies of Striga induced by the 29 Crotalaria landraces varied significantly at (p < 0.0001)
Distilled water had no observable germination induction effect while the positive control GR24 had the highest germination frequency of 76.1% that was significantly different from the other treatments (Table 1; Figure 1)
Summary
The Striga genus belong to Orobanchaceae family which comprise more than 2000 species of parasitic plants that parasitize major tropical cereals and some legumes [1]. Ineffective control methods further exacerbate the problem because of deposition of a large amount of seeds in soil (Striga seedbank) [3]. These seeds maintain dormancy and are viable for decades until stimulated to germinate by a suitable plant [4] which, produce germination stimulants called strigolactones [5]. Taking this into account, meaningful Striga control can only be achieved using an integrated approach that leads to significant reduction of the Striga seedbank in soil
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