Participatory appraisal of institutional and political constraints and opportunities for innovation to address parasitic weeds in rice

Schut, Marc; Rodenburg, Jonne; Klerkx, Laurens; Hinnou, Léonard Cossi; Kayeke, Juma; Bastiaans, L.

doi:10.1016/j.cropro.2015.04.011

Cited by 39 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…This in turn is useful for the identification and generation of potentially effective and ineffective R. fistulosa management strategies as shown above. Because the species is increasing in importance while generation of effective and affordable management strategies for affected rice farmers is lagging behind Houngbedji et al, 2014;Schut et al, 2015), such insights and ideas are highly relevant for future rice production in SSA, particularly in the rain-fed lowland production systems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Host influence on germination and reproduction of the facultative hemi‐parasitic weed Rhamphicarpa fistulosa

Kabiri

Ast

Rodenburg³

et al. 2016

Annals of Applied Biology

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Rice Vampireweed, Rhamphicarpa fistulosa, was a minor parasitic weed until recently when rice cultivation in sub-Saharan Africa was expanded into marginal wetlands, that are the parasite's natural habitat. Unlike most of the parasitic weeds, R. fistulosa is facultative, meaning that the parasite is able to complete its life cycle without a host. However, when not connected to a host plant, its biomass and seed production is lower. Because very little is known regarding the germination ecology of the parasite, the main objective of our study was to identify the cues that favour germination. We hypothesised that, first, being a wetland species, germination of R. fistulosa is stimulated by light and high soil moisture. Second, we hypothesised that if host plant presence increases its reproductive output then a germination stimulatory effect from host presence is likely to have developed. A Petri-dish and pot experiment showed that light and completely saturated soils were a requirement for germination, demonstrating that germination requirements of R. fistulosa are typical of species that grow in environments with fluctuating water levels. A pot experiment in which five infestation levels of R. fistulosa were installed in the absence and presence of a rice plant, showed that host plant presence resulted in a 3.7 times higher seed production rate and a 15% larger average seed size. Despite this reproductive advantage, a pot experiment with three rice cultivars, selected because of their difference in strigolactone production, showed that host plant presence, regardless of the development stage, did not influence the emergence rate of R. fistulosa. In a follow-up study, the germination stimulation effect of root exudates collected from the same three rice cultivars and a treatment consisting of an artificial germination stimulant (GR24) was compared with a treatment consisting of plain water. In these treatments, seeds of R. fistulosa were compared with seeds of the obligate parasite Striga hermonthica. Germination of S. hermonthica was strongly advanced by the presence of root exudates and GR24 but was completely absent in water, whereas germination of R. fistulosa in all treatments was similar to that in plain water. The absence of a host recognition mechanism at the germination stage suggests that the regulation of germination through light and soil moisture is near optimal. Our finding might also indicate that for this facultative parasitic plant species, a more opportunistic germination strategy is superior. Implications of the findings for management of R. fistulosa in rice cultivation are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Host influence on germination and reproduction of the facultative hemi‐parasitic weed Rhamphicarpa fistulosa

Kabiri

Ast

Rodenburg³

et al. 2016

Annals of Applied Biology

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“…Likewise, Schut et al. () identified agricultural education and awareness raising among farmers and extension agents as one of the most important drivers for innovation to better address parasitic weed problems in rice. Finally, for extension services to be more effective in training farmers on new technologies, the quality and mode of service delivery should also improve.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inefficiency of manual weeding in rainfed rice systems affected by parasitic weeds

N'Cho

Mourits

Rodenburg

2019

Agricultural Economics

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Manual weeding is the predominant weed control practice and the most labor-consuming activity in smallholder, rainfed rice systems in sub-Saharan Africa. This study investigates the technical inefficiency of weeding labor, other labor, and overall inputs, and identifies sources of technical inefficiency of weeding labor in the context of parasitic weed infestation. The analysis applies a two-stage approach. First, a directional input distance function DEA approach was used to compute input-specific technical inefficiencies. Second, sources of technical inefficiency of weeding labor were identified using a truncated bootstrap regression. Data from 406 randomly selected smallholder farmers from Benin (n = 215) and Côte d'Ivoire (n = 191) were used. The technical inefficiency of weeding labor was high in both countries (58% in Côte d'Ivoire and 69% in Benin). This implies that a substantial fraction of weeding labor could be saved without reducing rice productivity or increasing the use of other inputs. A decrease in the technical inefficiency of weeding labor with an increase in production scale was observed. In addition, weeding regime and education level were each associated to significant changes in the technical inefficiency of weeding labor.JEL classifications: C01, C02, C14, C34

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“…The majority of stakeholder constraints related to broader challenges in the crop protection and agricultural system than to parasitic weeds specifically (e.g. performance of agricultural extension services and poor collaboration between stakeholders (Schut et al ., )). According to stakeholders, efforts to address these constraints were promising strategies, with potential to improve parasitic weed management while also addressing other sustainability problems in these production systems.…”

Section: Retrospective and Prospective Cases Of Transdisciplinary Weementioning

confidence: 94%

Transdisciplinary weed research: new leverage on challenging weed problems?

et al. 2016

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Transdisciplinary weed research (TWR) is a promising path to more effective management of challenging weed problems. We define TWR as an integrated process of inquiry and action that addresses complex weed problems in the context of broader efforts to improve economic, environmental and social aspects of ecosystem sustainability. TWR seeks to integrate scholarly and practical knowledge across many stakeholder groups (e.g. scientists, private sector, farmers and extension officers) and levels (e.g. local, regional and landscape). Furthermore, TWR features democratic and iterative processes of decision-making and collective action that aims to align the interests, viewpoints and agendas of a wide range of stakeholders. The fundamental rationale for TWR is that many challenging weed problems (e.g. herbicide resistance or extensive plant invasions in natural areas) are better addressed systemically, as a part of broad-based efforts to advance ecosystem sustainability, rather than as isolated problems. Addressing challenging weed problems systemically can offer important new leverage on such problems, by creating new opportunities to manage their root causes and by improving complementarity between weed management and other activities. While promising, this approach is complicated by the multi-dimensional, multilevel, diversely defined and unpredictable nature of ecosystem sustainability. In practice, TWR can be undertaken as a cyclic process of (i) initial problem formulation, (ii) 'broadening' of the problem formulation and recruitment of stakeholder participants, (iii) deliberation, negotiation and design of an action agenda for systemic change, (iv) implementation action, (v) monitoring and assessment of outcomes and (vi) reformulation of the problem situation and renegotiation of further actions. Notably, 'purposive' disciplines (design, humanities and arts) have central, critical and recurrent roles in this process, as do integrative analyses of relevant multidi-mensional and multilevel factors, via multiple natural and social science disciplines. We exemplify this process in prospect and retrospect. Importantly TWR is not a replacement for current weed research; rather, the intent is to powerfully leverage current efforts.

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Participatory appraisal of institutional and political constraints and opportunities for innovation to address parasitic weeds in rice

Cited by 39 publications

References 48 publications

Host influence on germination and reproduction of the facultative hemi‐parasitic weed Rhamphicarpa fistulosa

Host influence on germination and reproduction of the facultative hemi‐parasitic weed Rhamphicarpa fistulosa

Inefficiency of manual weeding in rainfed rice systems affected by parasitic weeds

Transdisciplinary weed research: new leverage on challenging weed problems?

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