Report of several broomrape species (Orobanche) as new parasitic weeds of rapeseed fields of Golestan and Ilam provinces in Iran

Genus Orobanche is one of the most important parasitic weeds worldwide in several crops such as mushroom, rapeseed, bean, potato, tobacco, tomato, carrot, and other products belonging to Solanaceae, Apiaceae, and Asteraceae families. These weeds are considered as a serious threat to rapeseeds and other crops of the genus Brassica. They cause 5-100 percent yield loss in rapeseed in semi-tropical regions. There are 39 species of Orobanche in Iran. So far, there was no report of parasitic broomrape species in the Iranian rapeseed farms. As a result of a study conducted during the 2017-2019 cropping seasons, five parasite species, O. aegyptiaca, O. nana, O. oxyloba, O. hirtiflora and O. mutelii are reported for the first time on rapeseed farms from, , Ilam (Dehloran Township, Musian, Dasht-e-Abbas), Golestan (Gorgan Township, Galikesh Mountain), Golestan, Ilam (Dehloran Township), and Golestan (Gonbad Township, Simin Shahr, Gamishli Nazar, Ghareh Tappeh, Bandar Torkman, Ghareh Tappeh) Provinces, respectively, in Iran.