Rhamphicarpa fistulosa | |
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Flower of Rhamphicarpa fistulosa | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Orobanchaceae |
Genus: | Rhamphicarpa |
Species: | R. fistulosa |
Binomial name | |
Rhamphicarpa fistulosa (Hochst.) Benth. | |
Rhamphicarpa fistulosa (common name: rice vampireweed) is a flowering plant species in the family Orobanchaceae (formerly in the family Scrophulariaceae) [1] - and the genus Rhamphicarpa . [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] The plant is pale-green but can turn reddish towards maturity. It has needle-like leaves and white flowers with long corolla tubes. [7] The flowers only open after sunset and are supposedly pollinated by night moths. [8] The plant has a broad distribution in Africa (from Guinea to Madagascar and from Sudan to South Africa) and can also be found in New Guinea and northern Australia. [6]
Rhamphicarpa fistulosa is an annual facultative hemi-parasitic forb species. [8] It is a very widespread species in seasonally flooded wetlands in tropical and sub-tropical Africa, and it is increasingly important as a parasitic weeds in rain-fed lowland rice systems in Africa, [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] where yield losses of more than 60% are typically reported. [14] It is particularly a problem in rice fields prone to temporary, uncontrolled flooding. [14] [15] Management strategies against Rhamphicarpa fistulosa are limited; [16] [17] hand-weeding, permanent flooding, fertilizer applications and the use of herbicides are currently known, effective control measures. [11] [18] In addition, a number of high-yielding, resistance and tolerant rice varieties has recently been identified. [19]
A team of researchers from the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), [20] Wageningen University, FAO and the national research centers of Tanzania (MARI), Cote d'Ivoire (CNRA) and Benin (INRAB), investigates the importance of this species as a parasitic weed to rice [9] and tries to elucidate its biology, ecology and host damage mechanisms [21] [22] and to develop, with participating farmers, management strategies. The economic and social determinants [23] and impact is also studied and national extension and crop protection systems are analyzed [24] [25] [26] with the aim to identify constraints and challenges for the effective control and prevention of invasive pests [27] such as Rhamphicarpa fistulosa. The project, called PARASITE [28] is funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research - Science for Global Development and receives additional financial support through the CGIAR [29] Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). [30] The PARASITE project (www.parasite-project.org) has so far resulted in 10 published SCI journal papers.
Other groups working on Rhamphicarpa fistulosa: Laboratory of Applied Ecology, Department of Natural Research Management, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi, P.O. Box 526, Cotonou, Benin; AgroSup Dijon, UMR 1347 Agro-ecologie Pôle EcolDur, 17 rue Sully, BP 86510, 21065 Dijon cedex, France.
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