Department of Agroforestry, Forest College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Mettupalayam - 641301, Tamil Nadu, India.
Indian Journal of Agroforestry 6: 47–51, (2004).
A pot culture experiment was conducted to determine the allelopathic effect of Acacia holosericea on agricultural crops (cowpea, sesame, horse gram and sorghum) cultivated in 4 soil media viz., topsoil, rhizosphere soil, soil mulched with dry leaves and ordinary field soil as control. When compared to the ordinary field soil, the other three soil media (top soil, rhizosphere soil, soil mulched with dry leaves) significantly depressed the growth and yield of the 4 test crops. Among the different soil media, maximum suppression in germination was recorded under the topsoil. The maximum reduction in shoot length, root length (at 40 days after sowing and at harvest) and grain yield was recorded under the rhizosphere soil. The highest reduction in the dry matter production (at 40 days after sowing and at harvest) and number of leaves was recorded under the soil mulched with dry leaves. The results revealed that A. holosericea have an allelopathic effect on the following agricultural crops.
