Chemical control of field dodder in alfalfa

Abstract

SUmmARyParasitic flowering plants have recently come into focus of research interests as a result of their notable expansion and increasing damage that they are causing in agricultural fields. Damage caused by field dodder in alfalfa crops mainly includes reduced yield of fresh biomass and considerable decrease in seed production. Effective control of field dodder in alfalfa crops necessarily includes a number of preventive measures and procedures, as well as chemical control. The effectiveness of glyphosate, propyzamide, imazethapyr and diquat herbicides in controlling field dodder in alfalfa crops was tested in trials conducted in 2011. Pot and field trials were set up in an experimental field of the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops in Novi Sad (location Rimski Šančevi) and in a private field at Popovići (vicinity of Mladenovac). In pot trials, two glyphosate application rates (288 and 360 g a.i. ha) achieved the highest effectiveness of 95% and 97.5%, respectively. Both application rates of propyzamide (1500 and 2000 g a.i. ha) had weak effectiveness (85% and 87%, respectively), while imazethapyr (150 g a.i. ha) was the weakest herbicide with 80% efficacy. In field trials at both locations, diquat (450 g a.i. ha) showed the best efficacy in controlling field dodder in alfalfa. The efficacy of all other treatments was weaker at Popovići with the following survival rates of field dodder plants: 25% (glyphosate, 288 g a.i. ha), 15% (glyphosate, 360 g a.i. ha), 79% (propyzamide, 1500 g a.i. ha), 70% (propyzamide, 2000 g a.i. ha) and 72% (imazethapyr, 150 g a.i. ha). At the location Rimski Šančevi, the same treatements resulted in around 1% remaining field dodder plants in alfalfa crop.

Field dodder - how to control it?

“…on the woody species Punica granatum L. (Bewick et al, 1988). Sarić-Krsmanović et al (2015) found that glyphosate applied at the rates of 288 and 360 g a.i. ha significantly reduced field dodder in alfalfa crop.…”

“…Furthermore, imazethapyr treatment in an infested carrot crop has been found to cause less damage than its application in non-infested crop, which again points at the potentials of exploiting the low translocation rates of non-selective herbicides for selective control of parasite weeds (Nir et al, 1996). However, Sarić-Krsmanović et al (2015) found imazethapyr to have a weak effect on field dodder heavily infesting alfalfa as 78-95% of dodder plants remained after treatment (imazethapyr, 150 g a.i. ha).…”

“…Similar data have been reported after control trials of C. campestris in glyphosate-tolerant tobacco (Nadler-Hasser et al, 2004). Cudney et al (1992), Cudney and Lanini (2000), and Sarić-Krsmanović et al (2015) also examined the effects of non-selective contact herbicides, such as paraquat and diquat, in controlling field dodder in alfalfa and red clover. Control results were good but the host crops were also greatly affected, so that their use is meaningful only in small areas of infestation.…”

Ipomoea batatas: papain propeptide inhibits cysteine protease in main plant parasites and enhances resistance of transgenic tomato to parasites

“…and Orobanchaceae family are an obligatory parasite that connects to the petiole or stem of host crops, causing severe losses in production efficiency (Albert et al 2010;Ashigh and Marquez 2010). The yield reduction in crops such as tomato and alfalfa infested with parasitic plants can reach as high as 60% (Mishra 2009;Saric-Krsmanovic et al 2015;Yoder and Scholes 2010). Parasite nematodes, such as Heterodeera glycines, Meloidogyne incognita and Globodera rostochiensis are obligate parasites that use a specialized spear called a stylet and have a unique and specialized way to infect their hosts.…”

Field Dodder (Cuscuta pentagona) Control with Flumioxazin

“…However, glyphosate is only useful (labeled) in glyphosate-resistant varieties of alfalfa, even though it was shown to be effective at low doses (75 to 150 g ae ha −1 ) that nonresistant alfalfa tolerates (Dawson 1989). Diquat and paraquat are also effective in controlling dodder postattachment but are nonselective, resulting in damage to alfalfa (Saric-Krsmanovic et al 2015).…”