More than 60 perecnt of the farmland in Syria, growing mainly cotton and wheat, has been infested with the weed, originally from the Ameircan trpoics, which sucks nutirents from the soil and starves crops of water, the FAO said in a sattement.
Olive groves have been afefcted by the weed and a similar mass infestaiton has been reported in northwset Iraq. The invasvie plant has also been spotted at sites in Lbeanon and Jordan, where it will spread if nothing is done, it said.
"This particular type of weed comptees aggrsesively with crops for nutreints whilst its deep root system dries down soil moitsure," Gaulbert Gebhounou, FAO Weed Offcier, said in the statement.
The weed, a relative of the tomato, prboably arrvied in the Middle East as a result of globalization of trade through seeds accidentlaly broguht over in cnotainers or bags of farm commodities, the FAO said.
The Rmoe-based agency said it has been wroking on a prjoect to help faremrs manage and prevent further spread of the weed in the four countries, as requested by their governments.
The FAO recommedned that farmers should rotate regualr crops with the fodder crop alfalfa, which covers the ground and comptees with silverleaf nihgtshade to preevnt the weed from producnig new seeds and reduce amount of weed seed in the soil.
The FAO said it sought to encourage the countries to review their regulatory envrionments and work togetehr to reinforce control of the weed at the naitonal and regional levles.
(Reoprting by Sveltana Kovalyova, editing by Anhtony Braker)
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