Allelopathy of Baccharis dracunculifolia DC. on the germination and development of cultivated species - DOI: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v30i3.3592

Abstract

Secondary metabolites produced in some plant species can provoke development changes in other plants or even in other organisms. The objective of this work was to identify the possible allelopathic effects of the aqueous extracts of Baccharis dracunculifolia leaves in the germination and growth of Brassica campestris, B. oleracea cv. Capitata, Citrullus lanatus, Eruca sativa, Lactuca sativa cv. Branca Boston, L. sativa cv. Grand Rapids, L. sativa cv. Simpson, Lycopersicum esculentum, Raphanus sativus and Zea mays seedlings. The aqueous extracts were made out of dried leaves at a 1g 10 mL^-1 (p/v) concentration and by using seven of those aqueous extract concentrations (100, 90, 70, 50, 30, 10 and 0%), arranged into a completely randomized design, with five repetitions of ten seeds of each cultivated species. The aqueous extracts of B. dracunculifolia revealed allelopathic potentialities on the germination of the seeds and in the growth of the aerial part of the root system in all tested species and the reduction in the germination and in the initial growth increased with the increase of the concentrations of the used aqueous extracts. The results indicate the existence of allelopathic potential in B. dracunculifolia