47. Allelopathic effect of Tamarix aphylla on the emergence and growth parameters of Triticum aestivum and Zea mays
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Abstract
Plants are known for it’s phytotoxicity and produce and release different allelochemicals from their organs. These allelochemicals effect plant species at early growth stagesand slow down seed germination and inhibit the root and shoot growth. To understand the phenomenon of allelopathy, we performed in-vitro experiments to check the impact of Tamarix aphylla leaves different concentration extracts on wheat and maize seeds.Eight different concentrations of Tamarix leaves were applied on seeds to check the inhibitory and stimulatory potentials of the different concentration effect, correspondingly. Treatments include 5gm and 10gm cold and hot water extracts, 5 and 10gm Methanol extract,5 and 10gm litter treatment and rhizosphere experiment. Aqueous extract of leaves at varying concentrations was used with using pure water as a baseline. The Petri dishes culture experiment was conducted, whose design was completely randomized with five replicas.Different parameters i.e., germination (%), plumule length (cm), radical length (cm), fresh weight (g), dry weight (g), and moisture content (%) were selected for obtaining data. Basic method was used to record the data on the selected parameters. Result of experiment showed that Tamarix extracts affected all the selected parameters significantly. The significance of data was checked by using LSD test at alpha level of 0.05, 0.01, 0.001.Results show that as the concentration increased, germination, seedling growth, fresh weight, and dry biomass decreased specifically in wheat case. The litter of Tamarixaphyllawhen used as a growth medium inhibited the test species used.Tamarixsoil(rhizosphere) when tested showed slightly inhibition on the germination and growth of wheat and maize.The present study showed that the significance of the allelopathic effects of Tamarixaphylla was dependent upon the type of the tested specie used for test, growth parameters measured and allelopathic plant materialconcentration.The result showed that wheat is more susceptible than maize.Further studies are required to see its allelopathic behavior against its associated species and to identify the toxic principle and allelochemicals present in it. Allelochemicals after its identification potentially be used as growth regulators and other agrochemicals. Based on the study, it can be suggested that the use of allelopathic plant water extracts may act as a potential weed control.
Keywords:Allelopathy; Allelochemicals; Plants aqueous extract;Tamarixaphylla