PEST MANAGEMENT DECISION GUIDE: GREEN AND YELLOW LIST Striga witchweed in cowpea Striga gesneroides Kaufi Wa Khobwe Wa Maluwa Ofiira Prevention Monitoring Direct Control Direct Control Restrictions

l Avoid using seeds from the previous harvest if l Striga witchweed is a small parasitic plant l Hand-pull and l There are no silver bullet control the crops were infested with Striga weed. that attaches to, and penetrates the root of rogue out Striga methods for controlling Striga weed. l Intercrop with trap crops, like maize, pigeon pea, cowpea. plants after its Management of the weed mainly Mucuna, sorghum, cotton and soyabean to l Look for purplish flowering parasitic weed emergence. This depends on the cultural practices reduce the Striga seed bank in the soil. Striga attached to the crop that grows up to 10-20 should be done listed in the prevention. Use of before the weed herbicides usually negatively affect Striga weed grows up to 10-20 seeds germinate, cannot attach itself to these cm. The flowers are different from yellow crops, so it dies. flowering witchweed. flowers and sets the crops and are not advised. cm high (IITA) seed. l Rotate cowpea with non-susceptible crops, such l Look for yellowed cowpea leaves or early as groundnuts for no less than 3 years as seeds aging of cowpea plants in the field and l If you weed late stay long in the soil. search for presences of the Striga weed and do not put close to it. them in your l Apply organic or inorganic fertilizer (80kg of N/ compost pile or pit, ha) to improve soil fertility for better crop health l Uprooting infested plants reveals the burn the collected and better tolerance to weeds. yellowish Striga root of 1-3 cm in diameter plants to kill the l Avoid grazing animals or livestock in fields attaching to the plant. seeds since seeds infested with Striga. l Do regular plant monitoring and act as soon stay for a long time as possible before the weed flowers. in the soil. Parasitic striga weed attached to, and penetrating the crop root (Rob Williams/CABI)

Early drying of cowpea because of striga weed (IITA)

Malawi CREATED/UPDATED: May 2016 AUTHOR(S): Julius Banda (Ministry of Agric, Irrigation and water Development), phone no. 256 993845710 email: [email protected] EDITED BY: Plantwise

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