Allelopathic effect of weed species Amaranthus retroflexus L. on maize seed germination

Abstract

In order to examine allelopathic effect of Amaranthus retroflexus L., on germination capability and epicotyls and hypocotyls growth of maize (Zea mays L.) seeds a study was performed in laboratory conditions. The studies were conducted in the period 2011-2012 at Faculty of Agriculture in Novi Sad. Treatments were set up in randomised block design in four replications for each of four concentration ranges of 25, 50, 75 and 100 g l-1 of aqueous extract made of leaves and stem (above-ground parts) and 4 identical extract concentrations made of root (underground part) of weed species A. retroflexus L. Control variant was maize seed treated by distilled water. During the studies epicotyls and hypocotyls of maize seeds were measured after treatments with different concentrations of extracts made of underground and above-ground parts of A. retroflexus L., and the obtained values were compared with the control. The obtained results suggest that the extract from the aboveground parts of A. retroflexus L. in low concentrations of 25 g l-1 and 50 g l-1 had inhibiting effect to the growth of maize hypocotyls length, while having no statistically significant effect on epicotyls in all concentration, except the extract concentration of 100 g l-1, for which statistically significant effect on epicotyls growth was recorded. The extract from underground part of A.retroflexus L. had inhibiting effect to growth of maize epicotyls at all concentrations, while it had no effect to hypocotyls growth at any of the tested concentrations.