Fertilization benefits the facultative parasitic plant Rhamphicarpa fistulosa while gains by the infected host Oryza sativa are marginalized.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Rhamphicarpa fistulosa (Hochst.) Benth. is an annual facultative parasitic plant adapted to hydromorphic soils. In sub-Saharan Africa it causes high crop losses as a weed in rainfed lowland rice (Oryza sativa L.). Fertilizers are often proposed as a control measure against hemiparasitic weeds, but an understanding of the nutrient effects on R. fistulosa is currently still elusive.

Methods

In two greenhouse pot experiments, conducted in 2016 in the Netherlands and in 2019 in the UK, host plants (O. sativa, cv IR64) and parasitic plants (R. fistulosa) were grown alone or combined and were subjected to different levels of nutrient availability. Biomass measurements were used to assess whether and how effects of nutrient availability are expressed in the host

SUBMITTER: Rodenburg J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11005769 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature