Recent progress on sunflower broomrape research in China

Broomrape (Orobanche cumana Wallr.) is a holoparasitic plant which parasites sunflower roots. The infected sunflower plants are smaller, have a reduced kernel/husk ratio and yield decreases dramatically. It has become a severe problem for sunflower production all over the world. In recent years, due to importation of sunflower hybrid seeds, frequent local seed transportation and insufficient plant quarantine, broomrape widely occurs in sunflower production areas of China. This review addresses recent research progress on sunflower broomrape in China, focusing on occurrence, potential damage, seed germination mechanisms, physiological race identification, integrated control and breeding of resistant sunflowers. This review should provide useful reference information for future research and also integrated control of sunflower broomrape.