In this study, a collaboration between Natural Resources Institute & Wageningen University & Research – Centre for Crop Systems Analysis, we demonstrate that the facultative parasitic weed Rhamphicarpa fistulosa benefits from fertiliser application (but only) when it parasitises on a host, both in terms of biomass and in terms of reproductive output (seeds). This contrasts […]

Parasitic plants pose a significant threat to global agriculture, causing substantial crop losses and hampering food security. In recent years, CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) gene-editing technology has emerged as a promising tool for developing resistance against various plant pathogens. Its application in combating parasitic plants, however, remains largely unexplored. This review aims […]

Broomrapes (Orobanche and Phelipanche spp.) are root holoparasites deriving their nourishment from the parasitic interaction they establish with the host plant. Vegetable crops are severely affected worldwide from broomrapes infestations, which are hard-to-manage through the conventional agronomical practices and determines relevant production losses. The identification of resistant varieties represents the ideal solution to face with this noxious threat, […]

Dodder, a parasitic plant, obtains nutrients from its host through haustoria. The exchange of macromolecules between dodder and its host in nutrient-deficient environments is not well understood. In this study, it is shown that, when being subjected to nitrogen or phosphorus deficiency, at the transcript level soybean plants responded more strongly than did dodder plants. However, both plants exhibited significant changes […]

This book brings together for the first time in a single volume, the ecology, biology, damage, and control of all groups of African parasitic plants including both the relatively few parasites introduced to the continent as well as those native parasites which have spread from within Africa. This covers the well-known witchweeds and broomrapes but […]

Plants have evolved various strategies to adapt nutrient limited condition. As a reflection, parasitic plants and legume species produce specialized organs, the haustorium and the nodule, respectively, in order to acquire unique routes for nutrient uptake through intimate interaction with surrounding organisms. Initiation and developmental progression of haustorium and nodule require signal guidance from the […]

Infestation by the parasitic weed Striga is a major cause of cereal crop production losses on smallholder farms in Africa. Essential plant nutrients play an important indirect role in parasite seed germination, the first prerequisite for successful parasitism. Here, we demonstrate that increasing the nutrient availability for the host plant can also impede Striga development […]