Abstract
Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu et W.C. Cheng, known as a living fossil species, is planted in parks, gardens, and streets in many temperate regions worldwide. Adequate branch pruning is necessary to grow the plants in these locations, and pruning generates a large amount of waste. In this study, allelopathic activity of pruned-branch waste was investigated to search for beneficial applications of the waste. The leaves of M. glyptostroboides obtained from pruned branches were extracted, and the extracts showed growth-inhibitory activity on four weed species, namely, Vulpia myuros, Lolium multiflorum, Echinochloa crus-galli, and Phleum pretense. The inhibition was extract-concentration dependent. The roots of P. pretense were the most sensitive, and the coleoptiles of E. crus-galli were the least sensitive to the extracts among all roots and coleoptiles of these weed species. Two allelopathic substances in the extracts were isolated and identified as umbelliferone and (+)-rhododendrol. Both compounds showed inhibitory activity on the growth of V. myuros, although the inhibitory activity of (+)-rhododendrol was much greater than that of umbelliferone. The leaves may also contain some other allelopathic substances. These allelopathic substances, including umbelliferone and (+)-rhododendrol, may work as growth-inhibitory substances of leaf extracts. Therefore, the leaves of M. glyptostroboides obtained from pruned branches are allelopathic and potentially useful for weed control in certain agricultural settings such as foliar spray and soil additive, to decrease synthetic herbicide application in crop production pursuant to developing ecofriendly agriculture.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.