Influence of Fertilizer Microdosing on Strigolactone Production and Striga hermonthica Parasitism in Pearl Millet

M Jamil et al., 'Influence of Fertilizer Microdosing on Strigolactone Production and Striga hermonthica Parasitism in Pearl Millet', International Journal of Agriculture and Biology, vol. 16(5), pp.935-940, Friends Science Publishers, 2018

Africa and nutrient deficiency aggravates this problem, often leading to complete failure of pearl millet crops. Like many otherspecies, pearl millet secretes germination stimulants (strigolactones) into the soil in response to mineral nutrient deficiency,which triggers Striga seed germination resulting in infection. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate theinfluence of different doses of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) fertilizer on strigolactone production and Striga infection inthree different African pearl millet cultivars (KBH, Sadore Local and Striga resistance). All the pearl millet genotypesproduced varying amounts of different strigolactones like orobanchol, epi-orobanchol, orobanchyl acetate and 5-deoxystrigol,the level of which decreases with increasing doses of DAP. The control treatment (no DAP) showed maximum Strigagermination, emergence and dry biomass production in all cultivars of pearl millet. Supply of DAP fertilizer up to 4 g per hillsuppressed Striga germination by 69, 64 and 59%; emergence by 87, 85 and 95% and dry biomass by 91, 98 and 83% in cvsKBH, Sadore Local and Striga Resistance, respectively. The present findings reveal that DAP fertilizer minimizesstrigolactones production and, as a result, reduces Striga infection in pearl millet. Low doses of DAP fertilizer is a promisingstrategy to lower the destructive effect of Striga on pearl millet. The use of small doses of DAP fertilizer combined withresistant crop cultivars, intercropping with legumes and hand pulling of Striga at flowering in an integrated Striga controlstrategy should be developed to help African farmers control this noxious weed