Welcome to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture Research Repository
Infestation of crop fields by Striga species in the savanna zones of northeast Nigeria
Abstract/Description
Parasitism of crop plants by Striga species is a major constraint in the savanna zones of West Africa. Farmers ranked Striga as a leading constraint during a livelihood analysis of 30 communities in northeast Nigeria. A field survey was conducted to ascertain the extent of infestation by Striga spp. About 935 crop and fallow fields were surveyed across 30 communities in three agro-ecological zones. Four major Striga species were identified: Striga hermonthica in sorghum or maize; Striga aspera in rice; Striga densiflora in pearl millet and fallow and Striga gesnerioides in cowpea. About 68% of all fields sampled were infested, about 75% of compound fields and 60% of bush fields. The level of infestation was 60% in southern Guinea, 68% in Sudan and 74% in northern Guinea savanna. The level of infestation of cereal fields by S. hermonthica was in the order of Sudan savanna > Northern Guinea > Southern Guinea. Infestation of cowpea with S. gesnerioides was in the order of Northern Guinea savanna > Sudan savanna > Southern Guinea savanna. Across the three ecozones, about 85% of fields planted to maize and sorghum were infested with S. hermonthica and 81% of cowpea fields with S. gesenerioides. S. aspera infested 40–59% of rice fields and S. densiflora infested 27–60% of millet fields and fallow.
Multi standard citation
Permanent link to this item
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12478/3269Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2006.02.013
IITA Subjects
Agrovoc Terms
Regions
Countries
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Registration of Strigaresistant and Droughttolerant tropical early maize populations TZEW Pop DT STR C4 and TZEY Pop DT STR C4
(2009)Two maize (Zea mays L.) populations, TZE-W Pop DT STR C4 (Reg. No. GP-574, PI 654407), white- grained, fl int/dent, and TZE-Y Pop DT STR C4 (Reg. No. GP-575, PI 654408), yellow-grained, fl int/dent with drought tolerance and moderate levels of resistance to the fl owering parasitic witchweed, Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth, were developed at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). The two breeding populations were released to national maize programs in west and central Africa ... -
Field performance of improved cowpea varieties under conditions of natural infestation by the parasitic weed Striga gesnerioides
(2008)Cowpea is an important food crop in the dry savannas of West and Central Africa because of its high protein content. Yields are, however, considerably reduced by the parasitic angiosperm Striga gesnerioides. Field trials over 2 years in two localities in northeast Nigeria evaluated the performance of diverse cowpea varieties under conditions of natural infestation by Striga. Grain yield was higher in Tilla than in Damboa where the higher Striga infestation may be caused by the lower rainfall and ... -
Registration of striga-resistant tropical extra- early maize population
(2010)An extra-early maturing white-grained, flint/dent maize (Zea mays L.) population, TZEE-W Pop STR C4 (Reg. No. GP-576; PI 657704), has been developed at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture. The population has moderate levels of resistance to Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth. It was released in 2004 in west and central Africa as source germplasm for the development of synthetic varieties, parental inbred lines, and hybrids with improved resistance to Striga and superior grain yield. ...
