image: A pearl millet field infested with Striga hermonthica (purple flowers), an invasive, parasitic plant. view more
Credit: Salim Al-Babili
Striga hermonthica, also known as purple witchweed, is an invasive parasitic plant that threatens food production in sub-Saharan Africa. It is estimated to ruin up to 40 per cent of the region's staple crops, the equivalent of $7-10 billion, putting the livelihoods and food supplies of 300 million people in danger.
Striga has an Achilles' heel: it's a parasite that attaches to the roots of other plants. If it can't find a host plant to attach to, it dies. Scientists have found a way to exploit Striga's Achilles' heel to eradicate it from farmers' fields.
Salim Al-Babili, associate professor of plant science at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, and colleagues found that they could trick Striga seeds that a host plant was growing nearby. When conditions are right, the Striga seeds germinate, but without a host plant to attach to, they cannot survive.
The scientists take advantage of plant hormones called strigolactones, which are exuded by plant roots. It is these hormones that trigger Striga seeds to germinate. By treating bare crop fields in Burkina Faso with artificial strigolactones, the scientists found that they were able to reduce the number of Striga plants by more than half.
The scientists' solution can be applied to crop fields over the course of a crop rotation, and doesn't require additional water - the treatment begins to work when the rains fall. This has obvious advantages in a region where water is scarce. Al-Babili has been awarded a $5 million grant by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to continue developing real-world solutions to the Striga problem.
This new method will allow farmers and scientists to work together to combat the spread of the invasive Striga plant and help protect the food security of 300 million people in sub-Saharan Africa. The work will be published in Plants, People, Planet.
###
Study lead author:
Salim Al-Babili
salim.babili@kaust.edu.sa
KAUST - BESE Division
4700 KAUST Thuwal 23955-6900
Saudi Arabia
T: 00966128082565
Information for Editors:
Media contact (Plants, People, Planet):
Bennett Young
Managing Editor
ppp@lancaster.ac.uk
Twitter: @plantspplplanet
Facebook: /plantspeopleplanet
Instagram: @plantspplplanet
About Plants, People, Planet
Plants, People, Planet is an Open Access journal owned by the New Phytologist Trust. It aims to promote outstanding plant-based research in its broadest sense and to celebrate everything new, innovative and exciting in plant sciences that is relevant to society and people's daily lives. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/25722611
About the New Phytologist Trust
The New Phytologist Trust is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to promoting and supporting plant science. It owns and produces the journals New Phytologist and Plants, People, Planet. More information at https://newphytologist.org.