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Crop diversification and parasitic weed abundance: a global meta-analysis. Sci Rep 2022; 12:19413. [PMID: 36371505 PMCID: PMC9653488 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-24047-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Parasitic weeds cause huge annual losses to food production globally. A small number of species from the genera Cuscuta, Orobanche, Phelipanche and Striga have proliferated across many agroecological zones. Their control is compromised due to the lack of efficacy of conventional herbicides and their rapid adaptation to new resistant crop cultivars. A broad range of studies suggest consistent reductions in parasitic weed densities owing to increased spatial (intercropping) and temporal diversity (crop rotation). However, to date, no synthesis of this body of research has been published. Here we report the results of a meta-analysis using 1525 paired observations from 67 studies across 24 countries, comparing parasitic weed density and crop yields from monocrop and more diverse cropping systems. We found both spatial and temporal crop diversification had a significant effect on parasitic weed density reduction. Furthermore, our results show effects of spatial diversification are stronger in suppressing parasitic weeds than temporal effects. Furthermore, the analysis indicates intercrops which alter both microclimate and soil chemistry (e.g. Crotalaria, Stylosanthes, Berseem clover and Desmodium) are most effective in parasitic weed management. This analysis serves to underline the viability of crop diversification as a tool to enhance food security globally.
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Jamil M, Wang JY, Yonli D, Ota T, Berqdar L, Traore H, Margueritte O, Zwanenburg B, Asami T, Al-Babili S. Striga hermonthica Suicidal Germination Activity of Potent Strigolactone Analogs: Evaluation from Laboratory Bioassays to Field Trials. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 11:plants11081045. [PMID: 35448773 PMCID: PMC9025746 DOI: 10.3390/plants11081045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2022] [Revised: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The obligate hemiparasite Striga hermonthica is one of the major global biotic threats to agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa, causing severe yield losses of cereals. The germination of Striga seeds relies on host-released signaling molecules, mainly strigolactones (SLs). This dependency opens up the possibility of deploying SL analogs as "suicidal germination agents" to reduce the accumulated seed bank of Striga in infested soils. Although several synthetic SL analogs have been developed for this purpose, the utility of these compounds in realizing the suicidal germination strategy for combating Striga is still largely unknown. Here, we evaluated the efficacy of three potent SL analogs (MP3, MP16, and Nijmegen-1) under laboratory, greenhouse, and farmer's field conditions. All investigated analogs showed around a 50% Striga germination rate, equivalent to a 50% reduction in infestation, which was comparable to the standard SL analog GR24. Importantly, MP16 had the maximum reduction of Striga emergence (97%) in the greenhouse experiment, while Nijmegen-1 appeared to be a promising candidate under field conditions, with a 43% and 60% reduction of Striga emergence in pearl millet and sorghum fields, respectively. These findings confirm that the selected SL analogs appear to make promising candidates as simple suicidal agents both under laboratory and real African field conditions, which may support us to improve suicidal germination technology to deplete the Striga seed bank in African agriculture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Jamil
- The BioActives Lab, Center for Desert Agriculture, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia; (M.J.); (J.Y.W.); (L.B.)
| | - Jian You Wang
- The BioActives Lab, Center for Desert Agriculture, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia; (M.J.); (J.Y.W.); (L.B.)
| | - Djibril Yonli
- Institut de l’Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles (INERA), Ouagadougou 04 BP 8645, Burkina Faso; (D.Y.); (H.T.); (O.M.)
| | - Tsuyoshi Ota
- Applied Biological Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan; (T.O.); (T.A.)
| | - Lamis Berqdar
- The BioActives Lab, Center for Desert Agriculture, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia; (M.J.); (J.Y.W.); (L.B.)
| | - Hamidou Traore
- Institut de l’Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles (INERA), Ouagadougou 04 BP 8645, Burkina Faso; (D.Y.); (H.T.); (O.M.)
| | - Ouedraogo Margueritte
- Institut de l’Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles (INERA), Ouagadougou 04 BP 8645, Burkina Faso; (D.Y.); (H.T.); (O.M.)
| | - Binne Zwanenburg
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands;
| | - Tadao Asami
- Applied Biological Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan; (T.O.); (T.A.)
| | - Salim Al-Babili
- The BioActives Lab, Center for Desert Agriculture, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia; (M.J.); (J.Y.W.); (L.B.)
- Plant Science Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
- Correspondence:
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