Season 11 opens with Dr. Brad Hanson of UC Davis, who joins Joe and Alyssa to unravel the resurgence of broomrape, a challenging parasitic weed threatening California's tomato processing industry. Brad explains how broomrape's underground lifecycle, tiny long-lived seeds, and strict reliance on host plants make it difficult to detect and manage. The episode covers the difference between broomrape species appearing in North America, why processing tomatoes are especially vulnerable, and how broomrape spreads through equipment and soil movement.
Here are some sources Dr. Hanson shared for the listeners:
UC broomrape page (in progress)
https://broomrape.sf.ucdavis.edu/
California Tomato Research Institute's broomrape resource page (mostly UC extension info)
https://tomatonet.org/grower-resources/broomrape-resources/
California Department of Food and Agriculture broomrape program page
https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/ipc/broomrape/
This is a video article that the UCD college of ag put together a couple years ago
https://caes.ucdavis.edu/news/parasitic-weeds-threaten-tomato-plants-california-farms
