Allelopathic potential of Artemisia vulgaris L. and Pinus roxburghii sargent : a bioassay study

Abstract

In the present study, an attempt was made to investigate the influence of plant and soil extracts of Artemisia vulgaris L. and Pinus roxburghii Sargent on two test species, viz., Lepidium virginicum L. and Lolium perenne L. The plant and soil extracts had an inhibitory effect on the germination of the test species which differ considerably according to the extracts of various components, i.e., young developing leaves, old mature leaves, leaf and woody litter. In Artemisia vulgaris, young developing leaves and in Pinus roxburghii litter extracts were found more inhibitory compared to other components. Physical features of the extracts, viz., pH and conductivity, had least differences with distilled water (control). The presence of certain hydropholic metabolites was concluded as the principal cause for the inhibitory or allelopathic potential of these species. Lolium perenne was found relatively tolerant to the allelopathic effect compared to Lepidium virginicum.