Chapter 22 Integrated Agronomic Management of Parasitic Weed Seed Banks Yaakov Goldwasser and Jonne Rodenburg 22.1 Introduction The main difficulties in controlling parasitic weeds of the Orobanchaceae arise from the distinctive properties of their seeds: their immense number, their minute size, their extreme longevity and the ease of their dispersal (Bebawi et al. 1984, and see Chap. 8). These cause rapid increase in the parasite soil seed banks, even when the original infestation area is very limited. Containment of infested areas and prevention of seed distribution should therefore be major objectives of parasitic weed management strategies, in addition to direct control interventions against the parasites (Parker 1991; Ramaiah 1987; Rubiales et al. 2009). 22.1.1 Seed Dispersal The distribution of seeds to near and afar fields is possible due to various factors. As with non-parasitic invasive weeds, human practices are responsible to a large extent for field infestation by parasitic weeds. Parasitic weed seeds are transported to other fields through contaminated soil and water (by run-off) and because parasitic weed seeds adhere the fur of grazing animals, farming implements like ploughs or boots and clothing. Seed dispersal is also caused by local, national and international trade Y. Goldwasser (*) The Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences & Genetics in Agriculture, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food & Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel e-mail: gold@agri.huji.ac.il J. Rodenburg Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), East and Southern Africa, P.O. Box 33581, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania e-mail: j.rodenburg@cgiar.org D.M. Joel et al. (eds.), Parasitic Orobanchaceae, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-38146-1_22, © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013 393