TITLE:
Spatial Ramifications of Dodder Infestation on Urban Ornamentals in Mombasa, Kenya
AUTHORS:
Innocent Osoro Ngare, James Kibii Koske, John Njagi Muriuki, George Njagi Gathuku, Ruth Kangai Adiel
KEYWORDS:
Parasite, Forage, Ravage, Obligate, Host
JOURNAL NAME:
Current Urban Studies,
Vol.8 No.4,
December
7,
2020
ABSTRACT: Dodders are cosmopolitan generalist holoparasites that forage on a
community of plant species ranging from shrubs, trees and herbaceous. In this
study, we employ mixed method research design that involved use of
questionnaires and dodder host sampling matrix. Host identification and naming
was carried out by ecological Android PlantNet Plant App version 3.0.5.
Respondents sample size was determined by Krejcie and Morgan sampling formula. Results show that dodder
was fast spreading through spatial retrospective satellite Landsat imagery
analysis. Dodder was known by the majority of respondents (97.1%) where the
exploratory analysis score shows that respondents’ constituency of residence
influenced their understanding of dodder (F(5, 361) = 5.329, P = 0.000). The mode of parasitism between dodder & the hosts varied as some
ornamental trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants were either affected moderately
or extremely. The study recommends use of biotechnological dodder
control approaches through transgenic plants biotechnology and plant breeding
to develop resistance towards dodder plant parasites.