Cuscuta epithymum (alfalfa dodder)
Identity
- Preferred Scientific Name
- Cuscuta epithymum (L.) L. 1774
- Preferred Common Name
- alfalfa dodder
- Other Scientific Names
- Cuscuta alba C. Presl
- Cuscuta barbuvea Samp.
- Cuscuta epithymum subsp. trifolii (Bab.) Hegi
- Cuscuta prodanii Buia
- Cuscuta stenoloba Bornm. & O. Schwarz
- Cuscuta trifolii Bab. (1843)
- International Common Names
- Englishclover doddercommon dodder
- Spanishcuscuta del trebolepitimo
- Frenchcuscute du thymcuscute du thymecuscute du trefle
- Portuguesecabelos
- Local Common Names
- Belgiumklaverwarkruid
- Denmarkklover-silke
- Finlandapilanvieras
- GermanyKlee- SeideOuendel-SeideThymian-Seide
- Italycuscuta del trifogliocuscuta piccola
- Netherlandsduivelsnaaigarenklein Warkruid
- New Zealanddevil's gut
- South Africaklein dodderlesser dodder
- Swedenkloeversnaerja
- EPPO code
- CVCEY (Cuscuta epithymum)
Pictures
Flowers
Cuscuta epithymum, flowering, on Ulex europaeus (gorse). Devon, UK.
©Chris Parker/Bristol, UK
Flowering stage
C. epithymum, flowering, on Ulex europaeus (gorse) in Devon, UK.
©Chris Parker/Bristol, UK
Habit
C. epithymum, vegetative, smothering Ulex europaeus (gorse) in Cornwall, UK.
©Chris Parker/Bristol, UK
Flowers
C. epythimum on gorse (Ulex europaeus).
©Chris Parker/Bristol, UK
Cuscuta epithymum
Julia Scher, USDA APHIS, bugwood.org
Refer to Bugwood: http://www.bugwood.org/ImageUsage.html
Cuscuta epithymum
Julia Scher, USDA APHIS, bugwood.org
Refer to Bugwood: http://www.bugwood.org/ImageUsage.html
Distribution
Host Plants and Other Plants Affected
| Host | Host status | References |
|---|---|---|
| Achillea millefolium (yarrow) | Wild host | |
| Asperula cynanchica (squinancywort) | Wild host | |
| Calluna vulgaris (heather) | Wild host | |
| Daucus carota (carrot) | Main | |
| Hormathophylla spinosa | Wild host | |
| Lotus corniculatus (bird's-foot trefoil) | Wild host | |
| Medicago sativa (lucerne) | Main | |
| Pteridium esculentum | Wild host | |
| Thymus praecox | Wild host | |
| Trifolium pratense (red clover) | Main | |
| Ulex europaeus (gorse) | Wild host | |
| Ziziphus lotus (wild jujube) | Wild host |
Prevention and Control
Cultural Control
Use of clean crop seed is vital. Seed crops which might have been infested should be inspected and cleaned if necessary, or seed should be obtained from a source known to be reliable. Separation of Cuscuta seeds from lucerne is quite successfully achieved by equipment comprising felt- or velvet-covered rollers to which the rough seeds of Cuscuta stick while the smoother crop seeds pass over (see Dawson et al., 1994). Rotation with non-susceptible crops can be helpful. Cereals are virtually immune, but some broad-leaved crops may also be sufficiently resistant, including soyabean, kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), squash (Cucurbita sp.), cucumber and cotton (see Parker and Riches, 1993).Deep shade suppresses the coiling and attachment of Cuscuta; hence, encouraging a dense crop canopy is a valuable component of any integrated control programme.
Mechanical Control
The young seedlings of Cuscuta, with rudimentary roots, are readily destroyed by shallow tillage before or after crop establishment. Hand-pulling is suitable only for scattered infestations as the infested crop plants have to be removed with the parasite. Scattered infestations of C. campestris have also been controlled by heat, using a hand-held flame gun. More extensive infestations of that species in lucerne are also sometimes treated with overall flaming, as the crop is able to recover. Close mowing is an alternative means of control in lucerne and clovers.
Chemical Control
There is relatively little information on the use of herbicides against C. epithymum but propyzamide has been used for its control in lucerne in the former Czechoslovakia (Froliseck, 1986) and chlorpropham for its control on Calluna vulgaris (Belgium, 1962). Other herbicides of value in the control of other Cuscuta species, especially C. campestris, include metham-sodium and dazomet as pre-planting fumigants, trifluralin and related compounds, chlorthal-dimethyl, chlorpropham, pendimethalin, fluchloralin, butralin, etc. in lucerne and some other legumes. These might be expected to be equally effective against C. epithymum.
Biological Control
Biological control of C. epithymum has been considered in Yugoslavia, by augmentative release of the gall-forming weevil Smicronyx jungermanniae, but results were not encouraging (Parker and Riches, 1993). Attempts at biological control of other Cuscuta species have involved other Smicronyx species and the fly Melanagromyza cuscutae but with generally uncertain results according to Julien and Griffiths (1998). Among pathogens, a selected strain of Colletotrichum destructivum was shown to affect C. epithymum selectively in lucerne (Parker and Riches, 1993), and Alternaria cuscutacidae and a form of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides [Glomerella cingulata] have given helpful results against C. chinensis and C. australis (Parker and Riches, 1993; Julien and Griffiths, 1998).The prospects for biological control of C. epithymum and other Cuscuta spp. have been reviewed by Girling et al. (1979).
Integrated Control
Integrated methods for control of Cuscuta species generally involve the all-important use of clean seed; good field hygiene to eradicate scattered infestations before they get out of control; good control of other weeds which might act as reservoirs of infestation; timing of tillage and planting to maximize destruction of parasite seedlings before sowing; and optimum planting arrangement and growing conditions for a good crop canopy to suppress development of the weed.
Impact
Cuscuta spp. are known to be powerful sinks for metabolites, causing a severe drain on host resources and often completely preventing normal fruit development, as shown by Wolswinkel (1979) for C. europaea on faba bean (Vicia faba). Owing to this powerful metabolic sink effect, studied and described in detail by Wolswinkel and Ammerlaan (1983), the damage to infected hosts can be severe, to the extent of total crop loss. C. epithymum is believed to have equivalent mechanisms and is observed likewise to cause severe reductions in host vigour. Holm et al. (1979) record C. epithymum as a 'serious' weed in Afghanistan, Hungary, Poland and Turkey, a 'principal' weed in Italy, Portugal and the former USSR, and 'common' in Canada, Iran, South Africa, Spain and Venezuela. The crops affected are presumed to be mainly clovers, lucerne and carrot. In Holm et al. (1997) C. epithymum is described as being a weed of 25 crops in 13 countries.Infestations of C. epithymum on Hormathophylla spinosa (Cruciferae) in Spain did not significantly affect the fruit or seed production of its host plant, either during the study years or the years following strong infestation (Gomez, 1994) but in this case the dodder caused little harm mainly because it was scarce.
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Copyright © CABI. CABI is a registered EU trademark. This article is published under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
History
Published online: 22 November 2019
Language
English
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