Ibrahim Hend Mohammad Saad, Soliman Ibrahim E, Kenapar Mohamed E Z, Desoukey Sally F, Shabana Yasser M, Bondok Abd ElAziz T
Agricultural Botany Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza, 12613, Egypt.
Weed Research Central Laboratory, Agriculture Research Center, Giza, 12619, Egypt.
Sci Rep. 2025 Aug 25;15(1):31223. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-16004-6.
Dodder (Cuscuta planiflora) is a major parasitic plant species affecting the productivity of Egyptian clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.), an important forage crop in Egypt. A field trial was executed on Egyptian clover heavily infested with dodder during the winter seasons of 2021/2022 and 2022/2023. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of cultivar choice and seven dodder control treatments on dodder growth performance as well as growth and yield components of Egyptian clover under infestation conditions. Results indicated that Helali was the most tolerant cultivar to dodder infestation. Moreover, treatments using Fusarium incarnatum-based bioherbicide, silica nano-particles (Si-NPs), and chemical herbicide (glyphosate) effectively controlled dodder after parasitism. The application of Si-NPs at 22 and 30 g fed and bioherbicide at 20 and 30 kg fed effectively reduced dodder biomass while increased biomass and seed yield of infested clover. The interaction between the Helali cultivar and Si-NPs at 30 g fed was the most effective in reducing dodder biomass. Anatomical investigation of the stem revealed that Helali exhibited the greatest tolerance against dodder penetration. The electrophoretic protein profile indicated an unchanged protein pattern for Helali under infestation conditions. These findings suggest that Helali possesses a robust defense system and genetic diversity, making it the most tolerant cultivar to dodder infestation in conjunction with the high efficacy of the dodder control treatments used in this study.
菟丝子（Cuscuta planiflora）是一种主要的寄生植物，会影响埃及三叶草（Trifolium alexandrinum L.）的产量，而埃及三叶草是埃及一种重要的饲料作物。在2021/2022年和2022/2023年冬季，对菟丝子严重侵染的埃及三叶草进行了田间试验。本研究的目的是调查品种选择和七种菟丝子防治处理对菟丝子生长性能以及侵染条件下埃及三叶草生长和产量构成因素的影响。结果表明，Helali是对菟丝子侵染最具耐受性的品种。此外，使用基于肉色镰刀菌的生物除草剂、二氧化硅纳米颗粒（Si-NPs）和化学除草剂（草甘膦）的处理在寄生后能有效控制菟丝子。每英亩施用22克和30克Si-NPs以及每英亩施用20千克和30千克生物除草剂可有效降低菟丝子生物量，同时增加受侵染三叶草的生物量和种子产量。Helali品种与每英亩30克Si-NPs的组合在减少菟丝子生物量方面最有效。对茎的解剖学研究表明，Helali对菟丝子的穿透表现出最大的耐受性。电泳蛋白质图谱表明，Helali在侵染条件下蛋白质模式未发生变化。这些发现表明，Helali具有强大的防御系统和遗传多样性，使其成为对菟丝子侵染最具耐受性的品种，同时本研究中使用的菟丝子防治处理具有高效性。
