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Sebastian Mansley

Evaluate the extent to which knowledge of the life cycle of Striga


hermonthica facilitates the control of this parasitic weed.
Striga hermonthica is an obligate hemi-parasitic weed, it photosynthesises but steals nutrients from a
host plant which is required for its development (Keys.lucidcentral.org, 2015; Parker and Riches,
1993). In 1991 across six West African nations the Striga genera caused 12% loss of cereal yield.
More recently it has been predicted that Striga has caused up to $7 billion US dollars from damage to
the crops of 300 million farmers in Africa (Parker, 2009). Striga is one of the most important parasitic
weeds due to it having a host range including all major tropical cereals and sugarcane, including
African subsistence grains (grains farmed by people reliant on the crop for all the goods required by
their family, usually without surplus) (Press and Graves, 1995; Parker and Riches, 1993; Anon, 2015).
This assessment shows that the control of Striga is of the upmost importance to alleviate the suffering
of those most vulnerable to malnourishment from crop loss. Knowledge specific to the life cycle of
parasites is essential for combatting them as it allows identification of at which stages the parasite is
easiest to eradicate, for example malaria can be controlled through insecticide-treated nets that target
the mosquito vector rather than through pharmaceuticals unavailable to those most at risk (Govella,
Okumu and Killeen, 2010). This essay will explore the life cycle of Striga, use this information to
explain why many traditional methods of control are ineffective, discuss how our understanding
allows the creation of control methods tailored to combat particular stages of the parasites
development in a socio-economically appropriate manner, and consider educational barriers to
control.

The life cycle (shown above (University of Honenheim, 2015)) begins with the dispersal of
thousands of small seeds per plant. Each of these seeds is able to stay dormant in the soil for
years, allowing the establishment of a soil seed bank. (Sauerborn, Mller-Stver and
Hershenhorn, 2007). Germination is only possible after a period known as conditioning
where the seeds must have remained warm (optimally 25-30C) after which they are able to

Sebastian Mansley
respond to host signals (Press and Graves, 1995). After germination attachment may take
place. The seeds respond to the presence of chemical exudate from the roots of a nearby host,
if one is present, by developing an organ that attaches and penetrates into the hosts roots that
allows Striga to remove nutrients. This organ is known as a haustorium (Parker and Riches,
1993). During the subterranean stages the parasite is entirely dependent on the host as it is
unable to photosynthesise and it alters the host hormones to promote root development, as
well as possibly producing more haustoria. Four to six weeks later emergence takes place,
followed by the rest of the aerial phase to allow the release of more seeds to continue the life
cycle (Press and Graves, 1995).
A variety of traditional control methods fail to significantly impact Striga due to how they
interact with its life cycle. The most widely available control method is hand-pulling, an
option albeit a time consuming one open to all farmers. While the most lightly infested
land may benefit from hand pulling preventing seed dispersal allowing establishment of the
parasite, there are numerous reasons why it is ineffectual for the majority. Firstly the
attachment phase takes place underground and therefore by the time a plant is visible to be
pulled the damage has already been dealt to that particular crop harvest. Secondly, though
hand-pulling may prevent the removed individuals from disseminating seeds there is still the
soil seed bank present and so multiple years of pulling would be needed to deplete the seed
bank, all the while having no benefit to yield. Parasite emergence is later than normal weeds
and not simultaneous so multiple periods of weeding separate to that of the normal crop
weeding would be required for hand-pulling (Oswald, 2005; Parker and Riches, 1993).
Fallowing is effective in principle as a sufficiently long time period would deplete the seed
bank however it not feasible due to the reliance on the land for food production (Parker and
Riches, 1993). Even more advanced techniques outside the affordability of subsistence
farmers are subject to constraints. The utilisation of herbicides may kill the parasite seeds
however would also be phytotoxic to the crop. Genetic engineering of herbicide resistant crop
would only provide short term (3-6 year) resistance due to the high natural frequency of
resistance mutations coupled with Strigas seed output capability. In some regions there
would also be risk of resistant crop crossbreeding with feral or weed-like relatives
(Haussmann et al., 2000).
Utilisation of our knowledge of the life cycle of the parasite allows traditional methods to be
altered to target an aspect or aspects of Strigas development to provide effective control.
While investigating intercropping for control of insects it was noted that Desmodium spp.
reduced maize infestation by Striga. Field and laboratory testing confirmed a statistically
significant suppressant effect. Tests were constructed to judge if the effects were due to
shading, soil nitrogen or allelopathy (chemical inhibition). Addition of Desmodium
uncinatum exudate to potted maize with S. hermonthica seeds led to the observation that the
exudate caused haustorial growth inhibition, suppressing the infestation and confirming
allelopathy as the mechanism (Khan et al., 2002). This research was built on to reveal that
Desmodium roots released chemicals that prompted Striga germination while inhibiting its
lateral root growth to stop attachment this results in suicidal germination. D. uncinatum was
used with Napier grass, Pennisetum purpureum, in a trial to assess economic effectiveness of
a push-pull mechanism of control to combat Striga and stemborer moths. Ten farmers were
randomly recruited in each of six Kenyan districts and the study lasted 4-7 years. The control
mechanism resulted in an increase in crop yields and the study showed it was economically
efficient at the farm level (Khan et al., 2002). Other techniques than push-pull are also
viable. Crop rotation with trap crops, crops that cause Striga germination without being
parasitized by it, has been shown to reduce the seed bank of the soil. Furthermore though

Sebastian Mansley
hand-weeding is ineffectual for immediate return, with knowledge of the life cycle it becomes
an essential part of any control since as few as two mature parasites are able to maintain
damaging numbers of seeds in the soil. Hand-pulling for four seasons has been recorded as
reducing the Striga seed levels by 48% (Ransom, 2000).
A major barrier to Striga control is the lack of knowledge amongst the subsistence farmers
subject to infestation. Of 198 randomly selected Kenyan farming households, only 11% were
aware Striga spread through seeds. A different survey conducted in Ghana showed 65% of
farmers did not know that Striga was a parasite and therefore different to other weeds. 82%
of the Ghanian farmers had claimed to have had such severe Striga infestation they
abandoned crop fields. Though hand-weeding may labour intensive, time consuming and not
often engaged in by subsistence farmers it is also an essential part of long term control
methods as otherwise a few mature parasites are able to re-establish the seed bank. Without
an understanding of why one weed differs to another it cannot be expected for farmers to
change to different control methods without receiving education. (Oswald, 2005). There can
also be active reluctance to change to a particular method of control. Subsistence farmers
have yield as their primary characteristic focus if not growing cereals so that they are able to
buy the cereals with the profit of the other crop. It has been suggested that the crop
profitability should be the focus of investment for crop rotation technology rather than
effectiveness in Striga elimination (Ransom, 2000).
To conclude, I am of the opinion that knowledge of the life cycle of Striga hermonthica is
essential for the fullest extent of control of the parasitic weed. As shown in the previous
paragraph, many subsistence farmers have very little idea of the workings of the plant that is
causing damage they deem so severe that they feel their best option is to abandon their land.
At the farmer level of interaction, without an understanding of the seed bank or the
underground phase of Striga there is no incentive to hand-pull, let alone for four years, as you
see no immediate effect. Alternatively the concept of planting non-cereal crops (as trap crops
or for intercropping) to get a higher cereal yield seems counterintuitive without a deeper
understanding. At a higher level, if haustoria were not known to be important then the
allelopathic effect of Desmodium may have been ignored in favour of an incorrect hypothesis.
Khans success in using knowledge of haustorial inhibition to provide a method of control
that could be widely implemented at an affordable cost to farmers demonstrates how
understanding the vulnerabilities of the life cycle can be effective without large financial
backing for control methods.
Word count: 1466
References
Anon, (2015). In: 1st ed. [online] Available at: http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/subsistence%20farming [Accessed 19 Nov. 2015].
Govella, N., Okumu, F. and Killeen, G. (2010). Insecticide-Treated Nets Can Reduce Malaria
Transmission by Mosquitoes Which Feed Outdoors. American Journal of Tropical Medicine
and Hygiene, 82(3), pp.415-419.
Haussmann, B., Hess, D., Welz, H. and Geiger, H. (2000). Improved methodologies for
breeding striga-resistant sorghums. Field Crops Research, 66(3), pp.195-211.

Sebastian Mansley
Keys.lucidcentral.org, (2015). Factsheet - Striga hermonthica (Purple Witchweed). [online]
Available at:
http://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/eafrinet/weeds/key/weeds/Media/Html/Striga_hermonthi
ca_(Purple_Witchweed).htm [Accessed 19 Nov. 2015].
Khan, Z., Hassanali, A., Overholt, W., Khamis, T., Hooper, A., Pickett, J., Wadhams, L. and
Woodcock, C. (2002). CONTROL OF WITCHWEED Striga hermonthica BY
INTERCROPPING WITH Desmodium spp., AND THE MECHANISM DEFINED AS
ALLELOPATHIC. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 28(9), pp.1871-1885.
Khan, Z., Midega, C., Njuguna, E., Amudavi, D., Wanyama, J. and Pickett, J. (2008).
Economic performance of the pushpull technology for stemborer and Striga control in
smallholder farming systems in western Kenya. Crop Protection, 27(7), pp.1084-1097.
Oswald, A. (2005). Striga controltechnologies and their dissemination. Crop Protection,
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Parker, C. (2009). Observations on the current status of Orobanche and Striga problems
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Parker, C. and Riches, C. (1993). Parasitic weeds of the world. Wallingford, Oxon: CAB
International.
Press, M. and Graves, J. (1995). Parasitic plants. London: Chapman & Hall.
Ransom, J. (2000). Long-term approaches for the control of Striga in cereals: field
management options. Crop Protection, 19(8-10), pp.759-763.
Sauerborn, J., Mller-Stver, D. and Hershenhorn, J. (2007). The role of biological control in
managing parasitic weeds. Crop Protection, 26(3), pp.246-254.
University of Honenheim, (2015). Life cycle of Striga. [image] Available at: https://www.unihohenheim.de/www380/380b/science/supraregional/images/CV_Striga.gif [Accessed 19 Nov.
2015].

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