12— -Lanciaster Farming, Friday, Jan. ; 4, 1957
Witchweed, Destructive Foreign Pest
Of Corn, Invades Carolina States
WASHINGTON (USDA)
An insidious weed parasite that
destroys corn and other crops
«f~the grass family by attacking
their roots has appeared for the
fttstwlnme m the United States
at more than 40 scattered loca
tions In 3 counties Sn North
Carolina and 4 counties in South
Carolina, the U. S. Department
of Apiculture, _ Clerason Agri
cultural CoSlege, and North
Carolina State College announc
ed jointly today.
jConunon name of the pest is
“witchweed.” Botanists call it
Striga lutear or more correctly
Striga asiajtica. It has been
identified during the past few
weeks at scattered locations In
Bladen, Columbus, and Robe
son Counties, North Carolina,
and in neighboring Dillon,
Horry, Marion, and Marlboro
Counties, South Carolina. So
far as the Department now
knows, the weed’s discovery
In these areas is it first re
ported occurrence anywhere
in the Western Hemisphere.
Witchweed does its damage
below ground, penetrating the
roots of the host plants to which
it lives and depriving them of
nutrients and water. The para
site may also inject into the
hostplant roots some substance
that interferes with normal
growth of these plants.
Scientists of the State Agricul
tural Experiment Stations, Ex
tension Service specialists, and
State regulatory officials in
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Mt. Joy, Pa.
Phone 3-9331
THE ATGLEN
BUILDING *AND|LO AN
ASSOCIATION
Atglen, Pennsylvania
,| Announces that you may subscribe to a new
•] Series of Single, Double and full-paid shares dur
|| ing December 1956 and January 1957.
| Three Per Cent Interest paid on FULL-PAID Shares.
'1 We suggest that you investigate the advantages
;j we offer for your SAVINGS PROGRAM.
,| For information and service you may call at our
'I office in Atglen or contact any of the following
!1 directors:
•I J. Gilbert Adamson—West Grove, Pa.
[I James E. Brown—Atglen, Pa.
if George H. Eckman—Lancaster. Pa.-
[I Aaron Fisher—Paradise, Pa.
If G. Leighton Hassler—Quarryville, Pa.
>| John J. Hess—Gap, Pa.
[I Reuben R. Hull—Atglen, Pa.
i Bryon R. Judy—Cochranville, Pa.
|T Gordon B. Kingsbury—Coatesville, Pa.
, Zach H- Leamy—Pomeroy, Pa.
Mont Rutter—Christiana. Pa.
Joseph P. Wentz—Atglen, Pa.
►j Watch for our Thirty-First Annual Report.
>1 May we suggest that you start Atglen Building
H and Loan shares for members of your family as a
if New Year’s present.
North and South Carolina, work
ing in cooperation with USDA’s
Agricultural Research Service,
are taking immediate steps to
determine the extent of witch
weed infestation. Plans ar,e be
ing laid also for research aimed
at making next season’s control
measures against the pest as ef
fective as possible.
This harmless-looking weed
it seldom pows more than
a few inches high is a
scourge of corn and sorghum
in South Africa and a serious
pest of rice, sugarcane, and
other crops in the Far East.
The Union of South Africa has
reported that it does more
damage to corn in that coun
try than fungous diseases and
insects combined.
USDA scientists believe that
if witchweed became widespread
it might be capable of destroying
more corn in the United Stales
than the European corn borer,
whose depredations' cost farmers
more than $BO million a year.
The parasitic weed could also
attack summer-grown- small
grains, sorghum, sugarcane, rice,
and pasture grasses in thip coun
try.
FACTS ABOUT WITCHWEED
The weed has caused severe
damage in the few corn fields
it has infested m the Carohnas.
It has been found also m fields
planted to other crops, along
roadsides, and on vacant land.
Although witchweed nas been
observed in tobacco, peanuts,
beans, peas, sweetpotatoes, and
other crops'not related to gras
ses, it does not parasitize these
crops and so does them no dam
age.
■However, crabgrass or other
grasses growing; in fields # of non
susceptible crops can make
witchweed seeds dying dormant
underground germinate and pro
duce new plants that serve to
spread the infestation. A single
witchweed may produce up to
half a million microscopic seeds.
These tmy seeds are capable
much like the spores of a rust
fungus of easy distribution by
wind and other means.
Witchweed seeds cannot
germinate without the help of
suitable plants. They may lie
dormant in the ground for
years. Germination occurs only
when the seed comes near or
in contact with the roots of
corn and certain other plants,
mainly grasses, which evident
ly secrete some substance that
causes the weed seed to be
gin growing. But even in the
presence of these host plants,
witchweed seeds normally re
main dormant for about 18
months.
Alter germination, the roots
of the witchweed each develop
a bell-shaped sucking organ
called a haustorium which
penetrates * nearby root of the
host plant. These, suckers grad
ually plug the host plant’s vas
cular system, preventing it from
getting nutrients and waiter from
the soil. A plant so parasitized
slows in growth and soon shows
acute symptoms of drought, even
when the surrounding soil is
quite moist Most plants attacked
by witchweed die within a few
weeks after symptoms of wilting
first appear.
For about a month after its
seed germinates, the witchweed
grows entirely underground, of
ten several inches below the soil
surface, giving off Its host. Then
it emerges from the soil as a
bright green plant.
A month or so later the weed
puts out small flowers, usually
bright red but sometimes white
or yellow. .The first flowers ap
pear near the base of the p!ant
and others bloom later higher
up. Seeds of the lower 'flowers
are often mature by the time the
higher flowers bloom. Most
witchweed plants do not grow
taller than 8 or 9 inches, but
they may range up to 18 inches.
Within a month after the
first flowers open, their seed
pods burst and scatter the tiny
seeds, which are almost too
small for the eye to see. The
life cycle of the weed, from
germination to release of ma
ture seed, thus takes 3 to 4
months.
Witchweed seems to prefer
light soils, considerable mois
ture, and warm temperatures,
but in South Africa it has shown
ability to grow under a wide
range of soil, moisture, and cli
matic conditions.
CONTROL MEASURES
UNDERSTUDY
,The chemical 'weed-killer 2,
4-D will destroy witchweed
plants found above ground, but
spraymg with this chemical is
not expected to have any effect
on dormant witchweed seed ly
ing below the soil surface.
The likelihood of drift dam
age from 2, 4-D sprays in ad
joining fields of cotton, tobacco,
and other crops that are easily
injured by the chemical may
limit its use against witchweed
in the present areas of infesta
tion. However, the feasibility of
using various cheriucal weed
killers and soil fumigants to
eradicate witchweed is being ex
plored intensively by scientists
of the affected States and USDA.
Ojne of the Control mea
sures against this weed para
site that is widely used in
South Africa is the planting of '
“trap crops” nonsusceptible
plants that are not attacked by
witchweed but that neverthe
less have roots able to cause
dormant seeds of the pest to
germinate. Plants of this type
include peanuts, soybeans and %
cowpeas.
These trap crops, plant’d
alone or in rotation m infested
fields, help to reduce the pest’s
numbers. The witchweed seeds
they cause to germinate do not
produce seed-bearing plants, be
cause the trap crops will not
serve as hosts and thus give the
parasite nothing to live on. How
ever, if crabgrass or other plants
susceptible to the weed are al
lowed to grow in fields planted
to trap crops, they can cause
some seed-bearing witchweeds to
develop.
Since seeds of this pest lie
dormant in the soil for about
18 months, and since only those
seeds lying against or close to
the roots of the trap crops
will be made to germinate aft
er the dormant period, South
‘ Afridah f'eseatcherarddftminend v
growing trap crops for £ inr
more years in succession to do
a thorough job of controlling
the weed.
Sudangrass and other host
pSanits of the witchweed, though
not true “trap crops”, are also
planted purposely in South Afri
ca to stimulate germination of
dormant witchweed seeds. For
these host plants to aid in con
trolling the weed, they must DC
plowed under before the witch
weed they help to grow matures
its seed.
Two or three platings of
Sudangrass may be grown and
plowed under in a single season
to obtain maximum reduction of
the potential witchweed popula
tion. (Unlike Sudangrass. non
grass trap crops such as cowpeas
do not have to be plowed under
to aid in witchweed control.)
The Department cautions,
however, that trap crops and
other cropping methods do not
always insure witchweed eradica
tion- Also, their use may be
costly to farmers.
-■ USDA scientists point out
that the main objective of any
witchweed control program is
to prevent the weed from pro
ducing seed. Information re
ceived from the Union of South
Africa’s Department of Agri
culture emphasizes that the
parasite, though able to do a
great deal of damage, is by no
means uncontrollable.
Suggestions made by South
African scientists point to the
following as practical control
methods that may be useful in
the United States:
1. In fields heav/y infested
with the pest, growing and plow
ing under a susceptible crop
such as Sudangrass can help re
duce witchweed numbers.
2. Light infestations can be
reduced and eventually eliminat
ed in-many cases by mechanical
or chemical weed control.
3. The practice of rotating
corn with a trap crop such ’as
cowpeas, in addition to other
methods of witchweed control;, is
a worthwhile long-term practice
wherever the pest threatens the
corn crop.
AH practical approaches to
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1957
FRIGIDAIRE
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R. D. 3 °
‘ LANCASTER, PA.
Phone: Express 3-3908 or 7-8501
‘ h
4-H Leadership
Wins State Honors
Because of their remarkable
demonstration of leadership, two
Pennsylvania youth received the
1956 State 4-H Leadership pio
gi am aw ard. These young people
have developed the fine chaiac
tenstios necessary to successful
leadership in their 4-H Club as
■well as in their communlty.-
Thomas Kelly, 19, of Eighty
Four, and Nancy Huff, 20, of Oil
City, both 4-H’ers for 10 years,
were chosen by the State Exten
sion Service for this outstanding
honor.
Thomas has achieved recogni
tion as "an excellent speaker. He
spoke at two clubs on a program
plan for 4-H members attending
college, and also worked with Dr.
William Gordon on "Three Steps
to Action ”
Nancy returned by request to
help her Club’js.leadership school.
She helped plan meetings and
also introduced the speakers at
school assembly.
In i ecognitlon of their leader
ship abilities, Edward Foss Wil
son, a director of Wilson and Co ,
presented each with a handsome
19-jewel wrist watch appropii
ately inscribed.
This program is conducted
under the direction of the Co
operative Extension Service.
more positive and economical
control and eradication methods
for use against vvitchweed are
to be explored in State-USDA
research now getting under way.
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Phone 109R3
Nancy Huff