Strigolactones are apocarotenoids regulating shoot branching. They are also known to be exuded by plant roots at very low concentrations, stimulating hyphal branching of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and germination of root parasitic weed seeds. We show that strigolactones play a major role in host specificity of Orobanche and Phelipanche (the broomrapes) seed germination. This observation confi...

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is one of the most popular vegetables in many regions of the world. Pulses are important sources of protein for vegetarian population. Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) commonly known as gram is an important pulse crop. In Tunisia, the cultivated area and production have significant instability and decrease, the chickpea crop was affected by biotic and abiotic constrai...

Crenate broomrape (Orobanche crenata) is considered to be the major constraint for legume crops in Mediterranean countries. Strategies of control have been developed, but only marginal successes have been achieved. For the efficient control of the parasite, a better understanding of its interaction and associated resistance mechanisms at the molecular level is required. The pea response to this...

Some plants rely on others to do their photosynthesis for them. For example, most plants in thebroomrape family (Orobanchaceae; see figure) are parasitic, meaning they rely on a host plant for inorganic and organic nutrients as well as water. In most land plants, the selective pressure on photosynthesis-related elements causes plastid chromosomes to be conserved in terms of structure, gene cont...

A field experiment was conducted on an Orobanche naturally infested soil at Sakha Agricultural Research Station - Kafr El Sheikh, in 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 seasons aiming combating crenata faba bean through using waterextracts of fenugreek, coriander sorghum crops, each a concentration 10% weight/volume rate 20 litres/fed mixed with glyphosate (48%) reduced (40cm3/fed) compared to the recommen...

Essential oils produced by plants, and their components, could be sources of new natural herbicidal compounds. Thirteen extracted from six wild Lamiaceae species (namely Clinopodium suaveolens (Sm.) Kuntze, Satureja montana L. subsp. montana, Thymbra capitata (L.) Cav., Salvia fruticosa Mill. thomasii (Lacaita) Brullo, Guglielmo, Pavone & Terrasi, cuneifolia Ten., Thymus spinulosus Ten.) So...