The factors associated with the distribution of parasitic weed Orobanche cumana Wallr. (Broomrape), limiting sunflower production in Europe and the surrounding continents of Asia and Africa, have not been adequately investigated. The goals of this study were to broaden the understanding of environmental factors associated with broomrape’ distribution in Europe, and to predict suitable habitats based on environmental factors which would be vulnerable to invasion and establishment of broomrape in North and South America. A robust agroecological database included 35 quantitative parameters associated with trials conducted by ten public research organizations from five continents. The database consisted of 117 sites (habitats), Europe (79), Africa (3), Asia (6), and Americas (29), equally distributed between invaded and non- invaded habitats. Environmental parameters analyzed using an ANOVA and PCA showed that all sunflower areas from Europe were vulnerable to broomrape attack. The parasitic weed develops in soil and climate environmental conditions similar to non-invaded areas. Its expansion to nearby areas of the Africa and Asia continents seems to indicate a broadening of the environmental conditions to which the parasitic weed can tolerate. Habitat conditions of sunflower crop areas in South America showed more similarity to invaded habitats than North America. The absence of the ability to predict actual broomrape distribution based on environmental factors enforces the need to use cultural practices of crop rotation and genetic resistance in infected areas. Strict phytosanitary controls need to be enforced to prevent the inadvertent introduction into non-infected areas and its spread in infected areas.

This work is a part of the projects TR31025, Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of Republic of Serbia, and PNCyO 112745, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Argentina.

Trabajo presentado en el Third Internacional Symposium on broomrape (Orobanche spp.) in Sunflower, celebrado en Córdoba (España) del 3 al 6 de junio de 2014.

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