| Sumario: | urple witchweed [Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth.], here called just striga, parasitizes cereal crops in the savanna zone of sub-Saharan Africa. The objectives of this study were to investigate the expressions of a tolerant and a susceptible cultivar of maize (Zea mays L.) to striga as affected by timing (0, 2, 4, and 6 wk after maize planting) and rates (60 and 120 kg N ha−1) of N application under striga infestation. The experiment was designed as a split-split plot with four replications. Timing of N application and N rates significantly affected striga emergence, host-plant damage scores, agronomic traits, and grain yield. Nitrogen rate x application time interaction was highly significant for striga emergence. Time of N application was more important than N rate in suppressing striga emergence and host-plant damage. Nitrogen application at 2 wk after planting and 120 kg N ha−1 gave the best result in terms of maize performance and reduction of striga emergence. Host-plant damage symptoms were more useful in differentiating response of host genotypes to striga than striga emergence values. The tolerant cultivar (hybrid 8322-13) produced 188% higher grain yield than the susceptible cultivar (hybrid 8338-1) across all treatments. Grain yield of the tolerant cultivar at 60 kg N ha−1 was 88% higher than that of the susceptible cultivar at 120 kg N ha−1. The tolerant cultivar produced an average 157% more ears at 60 kg N ha−1 and 51% more ears at 120 kg N ha−1 than the susceptible cultivar. Among all the factors studied, the most important component for striga management was genetic tolerance, the ability of a host plant to withstand the parasite.
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