Abstract
The study aimed to determine the effect of aqueous extracts of medicinal plants (<em>Matricaria chamomilla</em>, <em>Hypericum perforatum</em>, <em>Achillea millefolium</em>, and <em>Urtica dioica</em>) containing allelopathic compounds on seed germination in lambsquarters (<em>Chenopodium album</em>) and herbicide-resistant windgrass (<em>Apera spica-venti</em>). A Petri-dish experiment was carried out, in which the effects of five concentrations of aqueous extracts on the germination of weeds were assessed for 10 consecutive days. It was found that the dynamics of seed germination are closely related to the type and concentration of aqueous extract of medicinal plants. The 8% <em>U. dioica</em> aqueous extract posed the strongest inhibitory effect, limiting the germination of both lambsquarters and windgrass. Additionally, weed germination was delayed by 12–72 h in the presence of extracts, compared with the control. Summing up, the aqueous extracts of medicinal plants, especially their higher concentrations, pose a desirable inhibiting effect against the germination of lambsquarters and herbicide-resistant windgrass seeds.
Highlights
Biological methods of plant protection against weeds create the new direction of crop protection, which incorporates the phenomenon of allelopathy
Germination in Ch. album and A. spica-venti was significantly reduced by aqueous extracts of H. perforatum and M. chamomilla (Fig. 1), and U. dioica and A. millefolium (Fig. 2), respectively
Aqueous extracts of H. perforatum and M. chamomilla inhibited the germination of Ch. album seeds compared to the control; a detailed statistical analysis of different concentrations of these extracts showed no significant effects on Ch. album seed germination (Tab. 2)
Summary
Biological methods of plant protection against weeds create the new direction of crop protection, which incorporates the phenomenon of allelopathy. More and more attention is paid to herbal plants, well known for their medicinal properties [3,4,5]. These plants can be a rich source of allelochemicals effective against weeds [6]. We tested four herbal species, known for their allelopathic effects: Hypericum perforatum [3], Urtica dioica [5,7,8], Achillea millefolium [9,10], and Matricaria chamomilla [4,11].
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