2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
The sunflower bunny is a chlorophyll-free parasitic plant that infects the root system of host plants, absorbing all kinds of nutrients and water from it, and releasing toxic products of plant metabolism. At the moment, about 30% of sunflower crops worldwide are affected by broomrape. Its harmfulness is so high that even with an average degree of infestation, the sunflower yield is often reduced by 25 - 30%. And you can meet this scourge in all areas of sunflower cultivation without exception
More about broomrape
Broomrape is an annual or perennial chlorophyll-free herb, representing the broomrape family. Its fleshy stalks, thickened at the bases, often grow up to half a meter in height or even more, and their color can be bluish, pinkish, slightly yellowish or even light brown. Stems can be both branching and simple, with scaly leaves and clavate bases.
In the course of evolution, the roots of the broomrape have gradually transformed into fleshy short fibers called haustoria, which adhere to the roots of host plants.
Such a dangerous broomrape blooms with rather small flowers, which in most cases are pollinated by flies or bumblebees. However, self-pollination is not excluded. And the fruits of this plant are fancy polyspermous capsules, each of which contains up to two thousand seeds. Seeds can be either oblong or round. All of them are very small and painted in dark brown tones. Almost always, a single plant forms up to several million seeds.
The broomstick is quite rightly considered the number one threat to sunflower, because it is distinguished by truly colossal seed productivity - there are up to half a million seeds per plant. These seeds are so tiny that they are easily spread by wind, machinery and agricultural implements (most often this happens when the same equipment moves through infected and healthy areas).
Broomrape seeds do not lose their germination for a very long time - up to twenty years! At the same time, they seem to hide and do not germinate until the root secretions of the host plant appear nearby.
Since the broomrape is a higher flowering, cross-pollinating facultative plant, it is incredibly varied, continuously producing new races and thus posing a serious danger. The most dangerous races of this plant are found in Russia and Spain, as well as in Turkey and Ukraine. If the sunflower is infected with new, overly aggressive races of broomrape, then you can easily lose the entire crop.
Almost every time breeders find new sources of resistance, the harmful broomrape begins to form new virulent races.
To a large extent, broomrape contamination of sunflower crops is facilitated by oversaturation of crop rotations with sunflower, violation of agricultural practices and dry weather conditions.
How to fight
The main preventive measures against broomrape are considered to be tillage to a depth of more than twenty centimeters and the observance of crop rotation - it is recommended to return the sunflower to its former places only after eight to nine years. And it is advisable to plant the affected crops as early as possible. The use of the most stable sunflower hybrids will also serve well. And at the stage of two to four leaves, it is recommended to use herbicides of the notorious imidazoline group. The preparation "Euro-Lightning" has proven itself especially well, allowing to effectively fight not only broomrape, but also weeds, thereby ensuring high yield of sunflower.
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Branchy broomstick is one of the plants of the family called broomrape, in Latin the name of this plant will sound as follows: Orobanche ramosa L. As for the name of the broomrape family itself, in Latin it will be like this: Orobanchaceae Vent.
Small Broomstick
Small broomstick is one of the plants of the family called broomrape; in Latin, the name of this plant will sound as follows: Orobanche minor Smith. As for the name of the broomrape family itself, in Latin it will be like this: Orobanchaceae Vent.
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Broomstick bluish is one of the plants of the family called broomrape, in Latin the name of this plant will sound as follows: Orobanche coerulescens Steph. As for the name of the bluish broomrape family itself, in Latin it will be like this:
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