The Biology and Control of Striga: a Review

Abstract

Striga is one of the major biological constraints of subsistence agriculture in Sub- Saharan Africa. It is a major problem in 59 countries accounting for an average crop loss of 40%. There are about 40 species of Striga, but the most wide-spread and damaging of all is Striga hermonthica. The species is known to have originated in the bordering areas of Ethiopia and Sudan along with its main cereal host —sorghum. It is in this part of the continent that the species shows great diversity in behaviour, i.e., attacking non-traditional cereal host crops such as tef and barley and occurring in highland plateaus of up to 2450 m. The intent of the paper is to highlight
relevant points on the origin, distribution and importance of the noxious pest, and review what is known so far of its biology and control with more emphasis to recent advances made in research.