Allelopathic Effects of Twelve Hedgerow Plant Species on Seed Germination and Seedling Growth of Wheat (Triticum astivum L.)

In laboratory bioassay, conducted to study the allelopathic influence of aqueous extracts (0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0% concentration) of twelve hedgerow plant species (Amorpha fruticosa L., Citrus reticulate Banco., Coronilla varia L., Eriobotrya japonica Thunb., Eulaliopsis binata Retz., Gynura bicolor DC., Hemerocallis citrine Baroni., Medicago sativa L., Morus alba L., Toona sinensis Roem., Vetiveria zizanioides L., Zanthoxylum schinifolium Sieb.) which planted in the purple hilly area of Sichuan basin in China was on the germination and seedling growth of wheat (Triticum astivum L.). At 10.0% concentration, The aqueous extracts of twelve hedgerow plant species significantly inhibited the seed germination and seedling growth of wheat except that A. fruticosa, E. binata and V. zizanioides extracts had no effect or slight inhibition on germination of wheat, but the degree of inhibition was species dependent. The allelopathic effect of aqueous extracts from hedgerow plants on wheat was maximum with G. bicolor, H. citrine, C. varia and M. sativa in terms of germination, and G. bicolor , M. sativa, M. alba and H. citrine in terms of shoot length, root length and dry weight, respecitively. The degree of inhibition increased with increase in concentration. Duplication of this work under field conditions is needed, for which the results of this study will form a valuable base.