Striga (Striga hermonthica), commonly known as witchweed, is an obligate root parasitic weed that poses a major threat to global food security and cereal production in sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, uncontrolled Striga infestation is causing significant losses in cereal production, affecting crop yields of cereals equating to at least $7 billion each year. There has been an extensive effort to develop some control measures but far beyond success, due to limiting factors including edaphic, climatic and socio economic. We are working in KAUST to develop some simple, cheaper and effective control strategies that can be acceptable and well fitted to the prevailing resource poor rainfed African agriculture. One of the salient strategies include reducing Striga seed bank accumulation in infested soils by applying synthetic germination stimulants in host’s absence (Suicidal germination). Recently, we evaluated three potent SL analogs (MP3, MP16, and Nijmegen-1) under laboratory, greenhouse, and farmers’ field conditions for suicidal germination efficacy against Striga. These findings confirm that the selected SL analogs could be potential candidates to employ for suicidal germination approach in the contemporary Striga management program. For further detail please download the manuscript “https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11081045”.
