Temperature Responses and Potential for Spread of Witchweed (Striga lutea) in the United States

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Abstract
Ethylene-stimulated germination of witchweed [Striga lutea Lour. = S. asiatica (L.) O. Ktze.] seed first occurred after 13, 10, 6, 3, and 2 days of conditioning in moist sand at day/night temperatures of 20/14, 23/17, 26/20, 29/23, and 32/26 C, respectively. Maximum germination percentages in these regimes were 0.5, 3, 20, 24, and 37%, respectively. No germination occurred at 17/11 C. Witchweed seed survived in sand frozen for 7 weeks at −7 or −15 C and subsequently germinated in response to ethylene or in the presence of corn (Zea mays L., ‘DeKalb B73 × Mo.17H′) roots. The parasites emerged from the soil and flowered when maintained at 29/23 C after the termination of the freezing treatments. In other experiments, witchweed parasitized corn and/or sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench ‘DeKalb E-59+′] root systems in a sandy loam under 26/17, 26/20, 29/20, 32/23, and 32/26 C day/night regimes. Witchweed emerged from the soil with 26/20, 29/20, 32/23, and 32/26 C and flowered with 26/20, 32/23, and 32/26 C day/night regimes. Underground development and subsequent emergence of the parasites were substantially reduced with day/night temperatures below 29/20 C. Winter soil temperatures and growing season soil and air temperatures are unlikely to limit the spread of witchweed into important corn- and sorghum-producing areas of the United States.