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HighlightsStriga spp. resistance in NERICA cultivars, observed in vitro, was confirmed in situ.NERICA-2, -10 (S. asiatica) and -10, -17 (S. hermonthica) are most resistant.NERICA-1, -17, -9 (S. asiatica) and -1, -17, -10 (S. hermonthica) show tolerance.Some NERICA cultivars yielded 1.5–2 t ha−1 despite Striga spp. infestation.

Striga asiatica and Rhamphicarpa fistulosa are important parasitic weeds of rain-fed rice, partly distributed in similar regions in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It is not evident whether their ecologies are mutually exclusive or partially overlapping. In Kyela, a rice-growing area in south Tanzania where both parasites are present, three transects of about 3 km each across the uplandlowland continuum were surveyed in June 2012 and 2013. A total of 36 fields were categorised according to their position on the upland-lowland continuum as High, Middle or Low and soil samples were taken. In each field, parasitic and non-parasitic weed species were identified in three quadrats. Additionally, in two pot experiments with four different moisture levels ranging from wilting point to saturation, influence of soil moisture on emergence and growth of parasites was investi-gated. Striga asiatica was observed in higher lying drier fields, while R. fistulosa was observed in the lower lying wetter fields. Furthermore, non-parasitic weed species that were exclusive to S. asiatica-infested fields are adapted to open well-drained soils, while species that were exclusive to R. fistulosa fields are typical for wet soils. The experiments confirmed that S. asiatica is favoured by free-draining soils and R. fistulosa by waterlogged soils. These results imply that changes in climate, specifically moisture regimes, will be crucial for future prevalence of these parasitic weeds. The nonoverlapping ecological range between their habitats suggests that their distribution and associated problems might remain separate. Thus, management strategies can be focused independently on either species.

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This paper provides a retrospective look at a systems-oriented research program, on the increasing occurrence of parasitic weeds in rainfed rice in sub-Saharan Africa, to qualitatively assess merits and identify challenges of such approach. We gained a broad contextual overview of the problem and different stakeholders' roles, which enabled identification of entry points for innovations in parasitic weed management. At the crop level parasitic weed infestation is associated with poor soil fertility and water management. Farmers' infrequent use of inputs to control them was caused by various factors, ranging from fears of undesired side effects (agronomic) to a lack of quality control of products (institutional). Furthermore, there may be enough extension agents, but they lack the required training on (parasitic) weed management to provide farmers with advice, while their organizations do not provide them with the necessary means for farm visits. At even higher organizational levels we observed a lack of coherent policies on parasitic weed control and implementation of them. Merits and challenges of an integrated multi-stakeholder and multi-level research project are discussed.