Allelopathic effect of five invasive plants on seed germination and growth of wild mustard

Abstract

Presently, chemical control is the most used method for plant protection. However, it is not an approach that is environmentally sustainable. Alternative IPM methods include biological control such as Allelopathy can be a good alternative in plant protection.
Allelopathy is defined as a direct or indirect interaction, whereby allelochemicals released by one organism influence the physiological processes of other neighboring organisms.
Laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate the allelopathic effect of five weeds, Eriochloa villosa (ERIVI), Panicum miliaceum (PANMI), Cannabis sativa (CANSA), Sorghum halepense (SORHA), Asclepias syriaca (ASCSY) on germination and growth of wild mustard (Sinapis arvensis L.). These weeds are dangerous during field cultivation and their weed control is difficult.
The extracts from the leaves and stem were used to examine the potential of inhibition of germination, root length, shoot length and full plant growth.
The phenomenon of allelopathy was detected in the examined plants. In the case of plants, the allelopathic effect also increased with increasing concentration. The results show that extracts of Johnson grass had the most significant inhibition effect of growth and seed germination.