A Diagnostic Survey on Striga in the Northern Ethiopian Highlands

Abstract

A diagnostic survey on Striga was conducted during March-April 1996 in the northern Ethiopian highlands. The main objective was to obtain information about current farming systems, the determinants of Striga infestation, and to identify and prioritize the Striga problems and constraints. Of the 218 farmers interviewed, 90 percent identified Striga as a major constraint to cereal production. Most farmers (87 percent) indicated that the witchweed problem was on the increase and 52 percent associated the incidence of Striga with the less fertile areas of the farm. The farmers identified seeds, farm implements, water erosion and animals as methods of Striga dispersal. Control methods that farmers use include hand weeding (74 percent), ox-plow cultivation (20 percent) and farmyard manure. Other crop management practices in the region were limited fallowing and fertilizer use as well as non-legume intercropping and rotation. Long-term research should be conducted on breeding and screening resistant cereal varieties, integrated nutrient management, improved cropping systems, use of multipurpose trees and forage legumes as trap crops to reduce the Striga seed bank, improve soil fertility, and decrease pests and plant diseases. Long-term socio-economic implications of the parasite problem need to be investigated. The development of integrated Striga control measures requires the involvement of farmers, extension agents and researchers.