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Growth of Witchweed (Striga asiatica) as Affected by Soil Types and Soil and Air Temperatures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

E. L. Robinson
E. L. Robinson*
Affiliation:
Crops Research Division, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with the Plant Pest Control Division and the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station, Whiteville, North Carolina
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Extract

Witchweed (Striga asiatica), a parasitic plant with brilliant-red flowers and hairy bright-green stems and leaves, was identified in the Western Hemisphere for the first time in 1956, although it had been present in the United States for several years. Figure 1 shows severe corn damage caused by witchweed. In a 1959 survey conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture witchweed was found on approximately 250,000 acres of land in 15 counties in North Carolina and 7 counties in South Carolina. It attacks many species in the family Gramineae. Witchweed jeopardizes the production of corn, sorghum, sugarcane, and probably other gramineous crops in any climatological regions of the United States where it may be adapted. This study attempted to obtain some indication of the possible limits of its spread.

Type
Research Article
Information
Weeds , Volume 8 , Issue 4 , October 1960 , pp. 576 - 581
Copyright
Copyright © 1960 Weed Science Society of America 

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References

Literature Cited

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