Allelopathic effect of sugarcane intercrops on its emergence and growth

Author(s) : Mubashar Nadeem, Muhammad Ehsan Safdar, Muhammad Sikander Hayyat, Muhammad Ibrahim, Hardev Sandhu, Muhammad Shehzad and Muhammad Sarwar

Digital object identifier:

https://doi.org/10.52587/JAF040203

Abstract:

Crops sown as intercrops in sugarcane are presumed to modify the emergence and growth of sugarcane by releasing phytotoxic chemicals into its rhizosphere. This study was conducted to investigate the allelopathic effect of leachates (liquid extracts with soluble solids) of intercrops Triticum aestivum, Cicer arietinum, Brassica napus and Lens culinaris on sugarcane. Aqueous extracts (5% w/v) derived from different plants parts (leaves, stem, root and whole plant). Among all the extracts used in study, B. napus root extract caused the highest reduction in emergence percentage (78%), emergence index (85%) and chlorophyll content (60%) of sugarcane seedlings in comparison with distilled water treated control. Whereas, the maximum inhibition in seedling growth of sugarcane was observed in response to application of stem extract of gram that resulted in the lowest sugarcane seedling length (23 cm), seedling biomass (2.0 g) and seedling vigor index (875). It can be concluded that in autumn planted sugarcane, intercropping of Brassica napus and Cicer arietinum should be avoided as these exhibited the strongest allelopathic influence on sugarcane.