Seed treatment of sorghum varieties with brine (NaCl) solution for control of Striga hermonthica in Sorghum

Field trials were conducted in 1997 and 1998 wet seasons to determine the effect of seed treatment of different sorghum varieties with brine (NaCl) on the control of Striga hermonthica in sorghum. The varieties of sorghum used were ICSV 1002, ICSV 1007 (improved resistant varieties from ICRISAT, Mali), BES (a local improved variety), and War-warabashi (a local susceptible variety). Different concentrations of brine at 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 M were used. The results show that the varieties, ICSV 1002 and ICSV 1007 had significantly higher establishment count than the BES and War-warabashi varieties, but had shorter plants. Similarly, the ICSV 1002 and ICSV 1007 and War-warabashi varieties had significantly larger LAI values than the BES variety, although the BES significantly out yielded them. The susceptible War-warabashi variety supported the highest number of Striga emergence than the improved varieties. The effect of brine treatments on plant establishment, growth and yield of sorghum under Striga infestation shows that there was a decrease in crop stands with increase in brine concentration, with the least value at 2.0 M brine treatment, which was damaging at this rate. Plant height and, leaf area index (LAI) of sorghum increased with increasing concentration of brine to a maximum at 1.5 M and declined at 2.0 M brine treatment. The 1.5 M brine treatment produced the highest grain yield. Striga shoot emergence significantly declined with increasing brine concentration reaching the lowest values at 1.5 and 2.0 M brine treatments. The interaction between sorghum varieties and brine concentrations shows that War-warabashi with 1.5 M brine treatment had the tallest plants and largest LAI, while BES and 1.5 M brine produced the highest grain yield. In general, the interaction between the varieties and all the brine concentrations significantly reduced Striga emergence. Irrespective of the sorghum varieties the use of brine at 1.5 M was found optimal for controlling Striga emergence resulting in increased crop growth and grain yield. This implies that which ever variety farmers are using either resistant, tolerant or susceptible, they could easily use brine at 1.5 M to effectively control Striga and increase in grain yield. The mechanism by which brine successfully controlled Striga, is, however, not clear and needs to be investigated.