Allelopathic effect of aqueous extract from root systems of Johnson grass on seed germination and initial development of soybean, pea and vetch

Abstract

This paper presents the results of the research on allelopathic effect of cold aqueous extracts from root systems of Johnson grass (Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers.) on the seed germination and the initial development of soybean (Glycine max (L.)), pea (Pisum sativum (L.)) and vetch (Vicia sativa (L.)) under laboratory conditions. It was established that the inhibitory effect of aqueous root extracts on the seed germination of soybean, peas and vetch varied between 28.8 and 86.3%. Furthermore, the inhibitory effect of aqueous root extracts of Johnson grass varied between 17.1 and 86.1% on the development of the initial germ and between 8.3% and 97.9% on the accumulation of fresh biomass in the initial germ of soybean, peas and vetch. The values of LC50(P=0.05) were established to vary between 46.40 and 98.28 g l-1 dry biomass from root systems of Johnson grass and can be arranged in the following order: soybean → peas → vetch.