Abstract

There is a fair amount of literature on Striga as a root parasite on several agricultural crops. Luthra (1921) in the course of his studies of Striga densiflora Benth. on sugar-cane makes mention of Striga lutea Linn as a root parasite on Jowar (Andropogon Sorghum Brot.) In the case of Striga densiflora he thinks that the parasite absorbs the food materials from the soil as a normal course to claborate its own food while being parasitic on the host's roots. He has threfore classed it as a, typical semiparasite. Mechanism of absorbing food material from the host plant and the anatomy of haustoria etc., are described and illustrated by the same author. Thadulingam and Narayana (1932) mention Striga lutea as attacking Varagu (Papsalum Scrobiculatum Linn.) Ragi (Eleusine Coracana Gaertn.) and Sugarcane (Sacharum officinarum Linn. The same authors have recorded Striga euphrasioides, Benth. another spocies of Striga attacking rice plants in the swamp. In the brochure issued by the Imperial Council of Agricultural Research (16). Striga lutea is mentioned as a serious pest on Tenai or Korra (Setaria Italica Benth). Pearson (1913) has made an extensive study of Striga lutea L. as a parasite on maize. Excepting some casual reference made of its parasitism on rice by a few authors, very little detailed work has been done on it.

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