Abstract
Various allelopathy bioassays were used to evaluate the allelopathic potential of 10 grassland forage species against a common test (phytometer) species,Carduus nutans L. Aqueous extracts did not influenceC. nutans germination, although radicle elongation was often severely inhibited.C. nutans was strongly affected by shoot, but not root, leachates. Decomposing ground tissue had mixed effects, and often stimulated shoot production ofC. nutans. Calculation ofR 2 (coefficient of determination) values between these results, and the results of previous experiments investigating the effects of the same 10 species onC. nutans emergence and development in field plots and glasshouse competition experiments frequently revealed strong, statistically significant relationships. Our results therefore provide correlative evidence for the importance of allelopathy in field conditions.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Ahmed, M., andWardle, D. A. 1994. Allelopathic potential of vegetative and flowering ragwort (Senecio jacobaea L.) plants against associated pasture species.Plant Soil 164:61–68.
Altieri, M. A., andDoll, J. D. 1978. The potential of allelopathy as a tool for weed management in field crops.PANS 24:495–507.
Christensen, N. L., andMuller, C. H. 1975. Effects of fire on factors controlling plant growth inAdenostema chaparral.Ecol. Monogr. 45:29–55.
Dias, L. S. 1991. Allelopathic activity of decomposing straw of wheat and oat and associated soil on some crop species.Soil Till. Res. 21:113–120.
Gaudet, C. L., andKeddy, P. A. 1988. A comparative approach to predicting competitive ability from plant traits.Nature 334:242–243.
Goldberg, D. E., andFleetwood, L. 1987. Competitive effect and response in four annual plants.J. Ecol. 75:1131–1143.
Grime, J. P., Hodgson, J. G., andHunt, R. 1988. Comparative Plant Ecology: A Functional Approach to Common British Species. Unwin Hyman, London.
Harper, J. L. 1977. Population Biology of Plants. Academic Press, London.
Hegazy, A. K., Mansour, K. S., andAbdel-Hady, N. F. 1990. Allelopathic and autotoxic effects ofAnastatica hierochuntica L.J. Chem. Ecol. 16:2183–2193.
Keddy, P. A., Twoland-Strutt, L., andWisheu, I. C. 1994. Competitive effect and response ranking in 20 wetland plants: Are they consistent across three environments?J. Ecol. 82:635–643.
Keeley, J. E. 1988. Allelopathy.Ecology 69:262–263.
Khandakar, A. L. andBradbeer, J. W. 1983. Jute Seed Quality. Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, Dhaka.
Leather, G. R., andEinhellig, F. A. 1986. Bioassays in the study of allelopathy, pp. 133–145,in A. R. Putnam and C.-S. Tang (eds.). The Science of Allelopathy. John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Li, H. H., Nishimura, H., Hasegawa, K., andMizutani, J. 1992. Allelopathy ofSasa cernua.J. Chem. Ecol. 18:1785–1796.
Lovett, J. V. 1990. Chemicals in plant protection: is there a natural alternative? pp. 57–65,in C. Bassett, L. J. Whitehouse, and J. A. Zabkiewicz (eds.). Alternatives to the Chemical Control of Weeds. Ministry of Forestry, Rotorua.
McPherson, J. K., Chou, C.-H., andMuller, C. H. 1971. Allelopathic constituents of the chaparral shrubAdenostema fasciculata.Phytochemistry 10:2925–2933.
Miller, T. E., andWerner, P. A. 1987. Competitive effects and responses between plant species in a first-year old-field community.Ecology 68:1201–1210.
Nakahisa, K., Tsuzuki, E., andMitsumizo, T. 1993. Study on the allelopathy of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) I. Observation of allelopathy and survey for substances inducing growth inhibition.Jpn. J. Crop Sci. 62:294–299.
Nilsson, M.-C. 1994. Separation of allelopathy and resource competition by the boreal dwarf shrubEmpetrum hermaphroditum Hagerup.Oecologia 98:1–7.
Panetta, F. D., andRandall, R. P. 1993.Emex australis and the competitive hierarchy of a grazed annual pasture.J. Appl. Ecol. 30:373–379.
Peters, R. H. 1991. A Critique of Ecology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Popay, A. I., andMedd, R. W. 1990. The biology of Australian weeds. 21.Carduus nutans L. ssp.nutans. Plant Prot. Q. 5:3–13.
Rice, E. L. 1984. Allelopathy, 2nd ed. Academic Press, Orlando.
Rice, E. L. 1986. Allelopathic growth stimulation, pp. 23–41,in A. R. Putnam and C.-S. Tang (eds.). The Science of Allelopathy. John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Rutherford, M. C., andPowrie, L. W. 1993. Allelochemic control of biomass allocation in interacting shrub species.J. Chem. Ecol. 19:893–906.
Shafer, W. E., andGarrison, S. A. 1986. Allelopathic effects of soil-incorporated asparagus roots on lettuce, tomato and asparagus seedling emergence.Hortscience 21:82–84.
Shipley, B., andPeters, R. H. 1990. A test of the Tilman model of plant strategies: Relative growth rate and biomass partitioning.Am. Nat. 136:139–153.
Singh, J. S., Raghubanshi, A. S., Singh, R. S., andSrivastava, S. C. 1989. Microbial biomass acts as a source and sink of nutrients in dry tropical forest and savanna.Nature 338:499–500.
Smith, A. E., andMartin, L. D. 1994. Allelopathic characteristics of three cool-season grass species in the forage ecosystem.Agron. J. 86:243–246.
Smith, G. S., Johnson, C. M., andCornforth, I. S. 1983. Comparison of nutrient solutions for growth of plants in sand culture.New Phytol. 94:537–548.
Stowe, L. G. 1979. Allelopathy and its influence on the distribution of plants in an Illinois old field.J. Ecol. 67:1065–1085.
Thompson, A., Saunders, A. E., andMartin, P. 1987. The effect of nodding thistle (Carduus nutans) on pasture production. Proceedings of the 40th New Zealand Weed and Pest Control Conference, pp. 222–225.
Wardle, D. A. 1992. A comparative assessment of factors which influence microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen levels in soil.Biol. Rev. 67:321–358.
Wardle, D. A., andParkinson, D. 1990. Interactions between microclimatic variables and the soil microbial biomass.Biol. Fertil. Soils 9:272–280.
Wardle, D. A., Nicholson, K. S., andAhmed, M. 1991. Residual allelopathic effects of pasture grasses and legumes against nodding thistle seedling emergence and growth. Proceedings of the 44th New Zealand Weed and Pest Control Conference, pp. 284–287.
Wardle, D. A., Nicholson, K. S., andAhmed, M. 1992a. Comparison of osmotic and allelopathic effects of grass leaf extracts on grass seed germination and radicle elongation.Plant Soil 140:315–319.
Wardle, D. A., Nicholson, K. S., andRahman, A. 1992b. Influence of pasture grass and legume swards on seedling emergence and growth ofCarduus nutans L. andCirsium vulgare L.Weed Res. 32:119–128.
Wardle, D. A., Nicholson, K. S., andRahman, A. 1993. Influence of plant age on the allelopathic potential of nodding thistle (Carduus nutans L.) against pasture grasses and legumes.Weed Res. 33:69–78.
Wardle, D. A., Nicholson, K. S., Ahmed, M. andRahman, A. 1994. Interference effects of the invasive plantCarduus nutans L. against the nitrogen fixation ability ofTrifolium repens L.Plant Soil 163:287–297.
Wardle, D. A., Nicholson, K. S., Ahmed, M., andRahman, A. 1995. Influence of forage plants on seedling emergence, growth and development ofCarduus nutans L.J. Appl. Ecol. 32:225–233.
Williamson, G. B. 1990. Allelopathy, Koch's postulates and the neck riddle, pp. 142–162,in J. B. Grace and D. Tilman (eds.). Perspectives on Plant Competition. Academic Press, San Diego.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wardle, D.A., Nicholson, K.S. & Rahman, A. Use of a comparative approach to identify allelopathic potential and relationship between allelopathy bioassays and “competition” experiments for ten grassland and plant species. J Chem Ecol 22, 933–948 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02029946
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02029946