Published: March 14, 2010

Developing Weed Resistance in Corn Hybrids

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Newswise - Millions of people in the savannas of west and central Africa rely on maize (corn) as a staple crop, and as an "insurance" food crop at the beginning of the rainy season. A destructive parasitic weed, Striga hermonthica, poses a threat to this valuable crop. Almost 64% of cropland in this area of Africa is affected by the parasite, which causes an average grain yield loss of 68%. Farmers in Striga-infested areas have not yet adopted Striga-resistant hybrids.

The full article is available for no charge for 30 days following the date of this summary. View the abstract at https://www.crops.org/publications/crop-science/view/50-2/c09-05-0247.pdf.

Crop Science is the flagship journal of the Crop Science Society of America. Original research is peer-reviewed and published in this highly cited journal. It also contains invited review and interpretation articles and perspectives that offer insight and commentary on recent advances in crop science. For more information, visit http://crop.scijournals.org

The Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), founded in 1955, is an international scientific society comprised of 6,000+ members with its headquarters in Madison, WI. Members advance the discipline of crop science by acquiring and disseminating information about crop breeding and genetics; crop physiology; crop ecology, management, and quality; seed physiology, production, and technology; turfgrass science; forage and grazinglands; genomics, molecular genetics, and biotechnology; and biomedical and enhanced plants.

Source: NewsWise