Striga weed is one of the major constraints to increased maize production in sub-Saharan Africa. In Kenya alone, there are over 150,000 ha ofland severely infected with Striga hermonthica. This parasitic weed is not only spreading into new areas but also increasing in severity in areas already infested. The areas badly affected by Striga are also the areas where many of the poorest people live with the highest percentage of maize in their diet. Farmers in areas where Striga is endemic need new approaches to contain it forthem to benefit from genetic gains made in maize improvement and crop management practices. As an alternative to agronomic approaches to Striga control and convectional breeding approaches to identify tolerance to Striga in maize, CIMMYT in collaboration with the Weizmann Institute of Science have developed and demonstrated a highly promising technology with potential for high and immediate impact in controlling a highly pernicious pest in one of Africa's most important staple food crops - maize. Activities during 200 I focused on herbicide formulations and application methodologies for effective Striga control and development of adapted imidazolinone-resistant (IR) maize cultivars. These studies are necessary in finetuning the seed coating technology for the diverse soil and cropping conditions in the major Strigainfested agro-ecologies of sub-Saharan Africa and bringing the IR-trait into the maize germ plasm planted in those environments.

Conservation Agriculture Program|Global Maize Program

Text in English

0203|AGRIS 0201|AL-Publications|R01CIMPU

CFDE01|INT2460|INT2340

CIMMYT Staff Publications Collection