Variation in maize tolerance to Striga Lutea (Lour) and influence of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi

Abstract

This study was conducted to assess the variation in maize tolerance to Striga lutea and influence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Screen house experiment was conducted at the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Ibadan while, Farm settlement and Temidire were striga endemic experimental fields in Eruwa. Complete randomized design was used in screen house while, randomized complete block design was adopted on the field with three replications. AMF (Glomus mosseae, G. clarum, G. deserticola and Gigaspora gigantea) in mixtures of soil and root fragments were inoculated at the rate of 25g per plant while, 10.4g of extracted striga seeds were artificially  infested. Uninoculated and uninfested in pots and plots served as control. Four maize genotypes; ILE1- OB, ART-98-SW4-OB, ART-98-SW5-OB and ART-98-SW6-OB were screened for tolerance or susceptibility to S. lutea infestation on disease rating scale of 1 to 9. ART-98-SW5-OB and ART-98-SW6-OB were significantly tolerant (P<0.05) with striga damage rating (SDR) ranging from 1.18-2.48, ART-98-SW4-OB was moderately tolerant with SDR ranging from 3.59-4.57, while ILE-OB was highly susceptible with SDR ranging from 8.61-8.72. Influence of AMF was significant (P<0.05) for growth, yield and striga-related traits with SDR ranging from 1.28- 2.70 and 1.21-2.64 at 8 and 10 weeks after planting respectively.

Key words: Maize, mycorrhiza, Striga lutea, tolerance, yield