Published in Scientific Papers. Series "Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture and rural development", Vol. 18 ISSUE 4
Written by Maria TĂNASE

This paper aims at representing a synthesis of studies, researches and experiments of bibliographic and original scientific papers that provide information on the level of current knowledge regarding cuscuta; as well as a starting point for further research. The genus Cuscuta L. (dodder) is one of the most significant groups of holoparasiteanthophytes, mostly economically, because infestation with some of its species can lead to significant production losses in a wide variety of crops, both quantitatively and qualitatively. The dodder has long been considered a curiosity by botanists and evolutionary biologists because it has particularly interesting and even enigmatic features when examined with great care and interest. Cuscuta offers many curiosities and features that explain the plant's adaptation to parasitism: an enormous fertility of up to 10,000 seeds per plant; a long subsistence in the search for host plants; a long-lasting and staggered germinative faculty, due to the phenomenon of skin inhibition; a lack of cotyledon (though still considered to belong to the Dicotiledonatae class); the presence of chlorophyll in all organs of the plant, with the exception of the root (and nonetheless the inability to photosynthesize, unless under conditions of a carbon dioxide-enriched atmosphere); lack of a meristem and root sculpture, which results in a solely ascending migration of assimilates; the resistance of living haustoria in the host plant while the parasite’s stem is dead, thus enabling the parasitic plant to regenerate and become perennial; the ability to transmit diseases such as viruses and mycoplasmas; etc. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the current state of knowledge on cuscuta species, in terms of taxonomy, ecology, agriculture, economy and management, by applying concepts that prove significant to biodiversity conservation and the agronomic value of landscape.

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