The influence of Azadirachta indica extract on the initial development of lettuce, cabbage and chive

Abstract

The allelopathic effects can be listed based on their frequency of occurrence, and the main effect is the capacity of suppress the germination of concurrent species. The main objective of this paper was to verify the allelopathic potential of the neem leaf aqueous extract on the germination of lettuce, cabbage and chive plants. The bioassay was conducted in a lab of the Science and Technology Federal Institute of Tocantins - campus Araguatins. The green leaves of neem were grinded in a blender with distilled water and then sieved, and extract solution was stored. The statistical design was completely randomized, with 5 treatments (0, 20, 50, 75 and 100%) and 4 repetitions. The data was submitted to variance analysis and mean comparison through the Scott Knott test with a 5% level of probability, using the software R. The neem leaves aqueous extract has shown higher allelopathic potentialities, affecting the germination speed rate in all the studied species, in the concentrations of 0 and 25%. It has also affected the roots development, mainly in the lettuce and chive plants. However, regarding the fresh matter and dry matter there was not any affect on the aqueous extract