Studies on the control of root parasitic plants focusing on germination metabolism

The most harmful weed in African agriculture is the root parasitic witchweed Striga hermonthica, of the family Orobanchaceae, which parasitizes staple food crops. Some broomrapes (Orobanche spp.) and branched broomrapes (Phelipanche spp.) also cause significant loss of leguminous crops and vegetables worldwide. Therefore, the control of root parasitic weeds is an agricultural issue worldwide. Because root parasitic weeds are obligate, reaching the host roots following germination through their radicle elongation is required to complete their life cycles. Conversely, inhibiting germination and radicle elongation may be an effective strategy for controlling root parasitic weeds. We identified a characteristic storage carbohydrate, planteose, in root parasitic plants and examined its metabolism, which may serve as a target for controlling root parasitic weeds. Here, our study of the germination process in the root parasitic weeds is reviewed, and the potential of germination metabolic inhibitors as control agents for root parasitic weeds is discussed.