Controlling witchweed through biocontrol
IITA and its partners have found a way to control the scourge of witchweed ( Striga hermonthica ) in Sub-Saharan Africa through a biocontrol agent. Striga infests some 50 million hectares of cereal crops, specifically maize, sorghum and millet, causing farmers an estimated US$ 7 billion in annual losses and affecting over 300 million people in the region. Developed by a team led by IITA plant pathologist Dr. Fen Beed with partners from the University of McGill (Canada) and University of Hohenheim (Germany), the technology utilizes certain strains of Fusarium oxysporum ( F. oxysporum ) to...