Abstract
A major problem in flower bulb cultivation is weed control. Synthetic herbicides are mainly used, although they cause a range of problems, and integrated weed control through application of naturally occurring allelochemicals would be highly desirable. Flower bulb production creates large amounts of leftover biomass. Utilizing this source for weed control may provide new applications of the bulb crops. We therefore screened 33 flower bulb extracts for allelochemical activity against weeds. Several methanol and chloroform extracts were observed to inhibit germination and growth of Senecio vulgaris L. and Lolium perenne L., as representatives of di- and mono-cotyledonous weeds, respectively. Narciclasine was identified as the bioactive compound in Narcissus. The extract of Amaryllis belladonna L. was equally active, but did not contain any narciclasine. Bioassay-guided fractionation of the A. belladonna extract resulted in the identification of lycorine as the bio-active compound. The IC50 measured for radicle growth inhibition was 0.10 µM for narciclasine and 0.93 µM for lycorine, compared to 0.11 mM of chlorpropham, a synthetic herbicide. Therefore, the leftover biomass from the spring bulb industry represents an interesting potential source for promising allelochemicals for further studies on weed growth inhibition.
Highlights
IntroductionWorldwide the economic value of spring flower bulb production is estimated to be over $1 billion
Worldwide the economic value of spring flower bulb production is estimated to be over $1 billion.With 21,000 ha of tulip, lily, narcissus, gladiolus, hyacinthns, crocus and iris production, TheNetherlands alone are by far the major global producer, contributing some $756 million in value [1].A major problem in bulb production is weed control
The screening of the flower bulb extracts resulted in the identification of potential sources for natural products against weeds
Summary
Worldwide the economic value of spring flower bulb production is estimated to be over $1 billion. The use of synthetic herbicides is the method of choice for weed control in flower bulb cultivation [2] These chemicals can cause negative side effects for the bulb crop. Already more than 200,000 secondary plant compounds have been identified, all in one way or another involved in the interaction with other plants or organisms [3] This provides an immense source for the generation of natural crop protectants. Flowers as well as small bulbs which are unsuitable for production These leftovers might be a source for other novel high value products, such as medicines, flavors, fragrances, dyes and crop protectants. We explored the potential of leftover biomass from flower bulb production as a potential source of allelochemical weed protectants for further study. Bio-guided fractionation was subsequently used to identify and quantify the bio-active compounds in the most active extracts
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