Summary• Striga is a parasitic weed attacking mainly maize, sorghum, millet and cowpea. Studying the interaction between rice and Striga is valuable since rice is a model monocot. In this paper, the susceptibility of different rice cultivars to S. hermonthica was tested and quantitative trait loci (QTL) for Striga tolerance mapped on the Bala × Azucena F 6 population.• Seven rice cultivars were grown with and without S. hermonthica for 14 wk. For the mapping experiment, 115 recombinant inbred lines (RILs), along with Azucena and Bala, were grown with and without Striga for 11 wk.• Rice cultivars tested had different susceptibilities to Striga, ranging from highly susceptible to completely resistant. Azucena and Bala differed in the speed of Striga emergence and the impact on host growth. A genomic region between positions 139 and 166 cM on chromosome 1 was identified containing strong QTL (LOD = 4.9-15.7) for all traits measured.• This indicates that genes for Striga tolerance exist in rice germplasm and the mapped QTL can be further studied to promote understanding of the nature of resistance/tolerance and breeding for Striga-resistant crop plants.

Economically feasible strategies to cope with invasive species are urgently needed. Plant density can be increased to reduce competitive effects on target plants. This study indicates that increasing native plant density can be used to reduce the effect of invasive Ageratina adenophora. Seedlings of an indigenous tree species, Schima wallichii, were grown in pots containing uninvaded or invaded soil, with or without A. adenophora leaf litter on the soil surface. Schima wallichii seedlings were also grown at four densities under four levels of A. adenophora leaf litter. Root and shoot biomass and length were measured as response parameters in both bioassays. Schima wallichii growth was inhibited by A. adenophora leaf litter and invaded soil. High litter levels reduced S. wallichii root length and dry weight at low plant densities. The inhibition disappeared at high S. wallichii plant densities. As A. adenophora did not inhibit S. wallichii growth at high plant densities, adjustments of seedling density should be studied as a possible management strategy for invasion by A. adenophora and potentially by other exotic plant species. As density-dependent growth inhibition is the key characteristic of chemical interference, we propose that phytotoxins contribute to A. adenophora invasion particularly at low densities of native seedlings.

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