orobanche

parasitic plant

Today we are going to talk about a type of plant that is well known for being a parasitic plant. When we say that a plant is a parasite, we are referring to the fact that it needs another organism in order to survive. This plant is called orobanche and it has characteristics worth studying. There are numerous studies on this plant since there are some species within this genus.

Therefore, we are going to dedicate this article to tell you all the characteristics, experiments and control of the Orobanche.

Key features

plant that parasitizes others

It is a saprophytic plant that does not have chlorophyll and that It can reach between 60-65 centimeters in height if good conditions are found. They do not have chlorophyll, so it is not capable of photosynthesis on its own. This is the main fact why the plant is parasitic and needs a plant to stay in. The housed plant hour is the one that transfers the energy to the nutrients necessary for it to live.

It has thick, robust looking stems that taper as they go to the ends. It has a cream, yellowish or reddish color depending on the species. Its leaves are oval to triangular in type and are relatively wide. Along the stem we can find numerous leaves somewhat more overlapping in the lower parts. It has a cylindrical inflorescence that is conical in shape at the apex where it is densest. Its Bracts are similar in length to flowers and are often turned back. The calyx has continuous segments and may be toothed twice. The corolla is 22 millimeters long and forms an angle of between 45 degrees and 90 degrees with the axis of the stem. It is tubular and infundibuliform with a rosy color that is similar to the color of wine.

The filaments of the stamens do not have hairs in a common way, but on some occasions they can present some short and glandular ones. Its fruit is capsule type.

Habitat and distribution area of ​​Orobanche

orobanche

Being a parasitic plant, it is usually due to hopedadoras plants. It is a parasitic species of the Centaurea aspera plant. This plant is typical of annual grasslands and is present in soils with a certain hydromorphy. This means that they are normally cool and moist soils. It is an endemic species of the Iberian Peninsula where it is found more frequently in the eastern half in the areas of Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia and the region of Murcia.

Por el momento it has not spread to the coastal and pre-coastal strip. It appeared for the first time in Murcia in a herbarium material revised in 2005. Later it was seen in grasslands of fontinal environments next to the plant. Cirsium monspessulanum, a plant that had not been previously mentioned as a host of this species or others of the genus, without any specimen of Centaurea aspera being found in the vicinity, a species that until now was known as the only one that parasitized O. icterica.

Some more recent studies indicate that specimens have been found around the Sierra del Tejo and that not a thousand were found together with the common specimens as in the closest bushes. Commonly, it has some names such as preppy wolf and jopo de lobo. These names are used in Murcia to refer to these plants of the genus Orobanche. They usually have yellow flowers and are common in loamy soils and parasitize the brush on the margins of the roads and crop banks.

Control of Orobanche

ramosa orobanche

Once we know the characteristics and the distribution area of ​​this parasitic plant, we are going to see the type of weed control that should be done. If we want to control parasitic weeds, it is much more complicated to manage than common weeds. This is due to the features that we have mentioned. Control and containment measures should be oriented towards strategies that can integrate different control methods focusing on the reduction of the seed bank, decrease the production of new seeds and prevent their dissemination in uncontaminated areas.

Orobanche's strength lies in the ability to form an abundant seed bank in the soil. This means that a program focused on reducing the extension of this plant should focus on reducing this seed bank in order to reduce its production. For this, it is necessary to design strategies that integrate several control methods. Some of the strategies combine methods such as solarization, herbicide application and manual control with a careful choice of cultivars, planting date. This is because none of the control methods used have been individually effective.

One of the relevant aspects in the management of this type of parasitic plants belonging to the weed are preventive phytosanitary measures. The objective of such preventive measures is to avoid expansion and invasion into other free territories. Let's not forget that it is a plant that needs a host. In this sense, it is important to take safeguards with the movement of agricultural machinery, livestock and plant material from the infested areas. Consequently, the use of certified seed should be considered in nurseries with substrate subjected to sterilization with adequate cleaning of the tillage machinery. In addition, subjecting cattle to a quarantine period is of vital importance among all the basic and essential measures that prevent the spread of new Orobanche infestations.

Best Practices

The establishment of crops that are susceptible to parasitization by Orobanche should be avoided at all times. It is key to avoid dispersal to have the most detailed knowledge possible of the places and areas that are normally infested. It should be considered that not only crops can be hosts, but also some wild plants and weeds can act by helping these plants. All these things must be taken into account in the control plans. One of the initial stages of these preventive measures may have a little more cost, but in the long term the best results are achieved.

I hope that with this information you can learn more about Orobanche and its characteristics.


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