Reduced Germination and Seedling Vigor of Weeds with Root Extracts of Maize and Soybean, and the Mechanism Defined as Allelopathic

Abstract

Due to the negative consequences of synthetic herbicides use and their reducing effectiveness due to development of resistant weeds, promotion of eco-friendly weed management approaches is emphasized. Weed suppression by intercropping is basically attributed to increasing competition between the crop plants and weeds and/or the allelopathy effect of some crop plants. The effect of root extracts of maize or soybean on beggarticks and goosegrass weeds, as well as the effect of sole cropping of corn or soybean on weed occurrence and growth were investigated. The germination and seedling vigor of the two weeds were significantly (P < 0.05) inhibited with the maize root extract compared to those with soybean. Similarly, 420.52% low amount of fresh weeds was collected from the maize-grown pots (37.03 g) compared to that of the soybean-grown pots (155.72 g). The results of this study revealed that intercropping of soybean with maize could be an effective option to reduce the weed problem although comprehensive field studies are necessary for practical applications.