Some of the major scientific achievements in Sub-Saharan Africa resulting from CGIAR work have been realized in the areas of biocontrol and the development of improved plant varieties. Of particular note has been the development of the new rices for Africa (NERICAs) through anther culture, the development of quality protein maize (QPM) as well as the effective control of the cassava mealybug. T...

Lotus japonicus genes responsive to parasitism by the compatible species Orobanche aegyptiaca and the incompatible species Striga hermonthica were isolated by using the suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) strategy. O. aegyptiaca and S. hermonthica parasitism specifically induced the expression of genes involved in jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthesis and phytoalexin biosynthesis, respectivel...

Host plant defence mechanisms (resistance and tolerance) nutrition are two of the most widely proposed components for control hemiparasitic weeds genus Striga in tropical cereal production systems. Neither alone is effective enough to prevent parasitism concomitant crop losses. This review explores potential improved nutrition, being chemical constituent soil fertility, fortify expression inher...

Over 4,000 plant species parasitize other plants to obtain water and nutrients. A few of these species have become weedy posing a tremendous threat to agriculture. The most damaging to annual crops are the root parasitic weeds, particularly broomrapes (Orobanche and Phelipanche spp.) and witchweeds (Striga spp.), which are extended over large agricultural areas in Europe, Africa and Asia. A pro...

Our environment constantly undergoes changes either natural or manmade affecting growth and development of all the organisms including plants. Plants are sessile in nature and therefore to counter environmental changes such as light, temperature, nutrient and water availability, pathogen, and many others; plants have evolved intricate signaling mechanisms, composed of multiple components includ...

It is well known that burning of vegetation stimulates new plant growth and landscape regeneration. The discovery that char and smoke from such fires promote seed germination in many species indicates the presence of chemical stimulants. Nitrogen oxides stimulate seed germination, but their importance in post-fire germination has been questioned. Cyanohydrins have been recently identified in aq...