Q. What is ‘Rhamphicarpa fistulosa’, recently seen in news?
Answer:
Parasitic weed
Notes: Rice vampireweed (Rhamphicarpa fistulosa) impacts over 140,000 farm households annually in Africa, causing $82 million in losses. It's a predominant and troublesome parasitic weed affecting rice, sorghum, and maize. Though it also affects other cereals, rice suffers the most. Current fertilizers don't control it. Resistant rice cultivars NERICA-L-40 and -31 offer hope, but further research is needed to mitigate its extensive economic and agricultural damage.