The battle against witchweed #Uganda

Scientists in the region are battling Striga
(witchweed) that has affected the productivity of
staple foods such as maize, sorghum, millet and
rice in the eastern part of the country.
The most affected areas are mainly, Tororo,
Moyo, Bugiri, Busia, Budaka and Iganga.
Farmers bordering Uganda on Kenyan side and
Tanzania have also been affected by the Striga
weed. Seed systems manager of African
Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), Dr.
Gospel Omanya said that over 100,000 hectares
of land has been affected by the striga weed in
Uganda.
Striga weed is parasitic weed that affects the
productivity of staple food like maize, sorghum
and millet. The weed survives by siphoning off
water and nutrients from the crops for its own
growth. It causes damage to its host crop before
emerging from soil by producing phytotoxins
which are harmful to the host crop.
Omanya said that over one million hectares of
land are affected by the weed in East Africa and
over 40million hectares of smallholder farmland
in the sub-saharan Africa is affected.
"Striga weed seeds remain dormant and viable in
the soil for up to twenty years. With every
planting season, some of the seeds germinate
and infest the crops while reproducing and
increasing the striga seed in the soil," he said.
AATF is partnering with African 2000 Network
and National Agriculture Research Organization
(NARO) to effectively manage striga weed
infestations and enable farmers to increase on the
grain yields.
Ugandan Farmers in the affected areas are
facilitated to access Imazapyr Resistant (IR) maize
technology which is referred as strigaway maize
by farmers and agro dealers.