Two field experiments were carried out at Sakha Experimental Station during 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 seasons to investigate the effect of dodder weed and some control methods of dodder weed on forage and seed yields of Berseem clover. The experimental design was split plot design with four replicates. Two Egyptian clover cultivars namely A1-Helaly and A2-Sakha 96 were represented in the main plot, while sub plot were divided to 4 treatments as cheek: B1 clover non infested, B2 clover infested by dodder seed, B3 clover mixed with rye grass and B4 clover mixed with barely. Treatments from B5 to B10 had infested by dodder seed, and treated as: B5 Butralin 2 L/fed., B6 Glyphosate 70 cc/fed. applied twice, B7 clover and rye grass mixture (trap crop), B8 clover and barely mixture (trap crop), B9 false irrigation with tillage and B10 false irrigation without tillage. Results could be summarized as follow: dodder weed (Cuscuta planiflora L.) was harmful of Egyptian clover which decreased fresh yield by 16.64 and 18.25%, dry yield by 21.04 and 22.26% and seed yield by 41.3 and 42.8% in the two seasons, respectively.
The best treatment of dodder weed control, so improve yield was false irrigation with tillage followed by Butralin herbicide 2 L/fed. and trap crop rye grass as a mixture. The effect of control methods of dodder weed of fresh yield were; false irrigation with tillage had decreased dodder weed effect by 81.6 and 79.4%, Butralin by 74.4 and 71% and trap crop rye grass by 54.7 and 58.9% in the two seasons, respectively. Using false irrigation with Butralin could be control dodder weed.