Rhamphicarpa fistulosa : New Report
A new report showed that rice vampireweed (Rhamphicarpa fistulosa) in Africa affected more than 140,000 farm households and caused losses worth $82 million per year to the continent’s economy.
- Rhamphicarpa fistulosa is a facultative, parasitic weed that grows on rice which is also known as rice vampireweed.
- It also affects sorghum and maize and, potentially, other cereal crops.
- The weed can germinate and grow independently but significantly increases its reproductive output when parasitizing a suitable host.
- It is not controlled by fertilisers.
- It is found in at least 35 countries in Africa, with 28 of them home to rainfed lowland rice areas.
- Countries with the highest estimated infestation rates were Gambia, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Togo and, to a lesser extent, Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, Benin, Malawi and Tanzania.
- Parasitic plant depends on other plants for part or all of their nutrition.
- They parasitize by making a xylem-to-xylem connection with the host plant using a specialized organ called haustorium.
