Department of Forestry Post Box 59, H.N.B. Garhwal University, Srinagar Garhwal-246 174, Uttarakhand, India. E. Mail: butola_bs@yahoo.co.in.
*Correspondence author.
Multipurpose trees are grown in and/or around agriculture fields extensively in Garhwal Himalaya. Leaves and bark extracts of some multipurpose trees inhibited the germination and growth of test crops. The bioassay revealed that leaves and bark extracts of Grewia oppositifolia and Ficus roxburghii were most toxic. Eleusine coracana, Echinochloa frumentacea and Phaseolus mungo were the most susceptible crops, whereas, Glycine max showed some resistance. Leaf extracts from trees of lower altitude (960 m asl) and bark extracts from higher altitude (1550 m asl) reduced the germination than other extracts. In pot culture, leaf mulching inhibited the radicle growth, while bark mulching reduced the plumule growth of test crops. F. roxburghii was more toxic to germination, radicle and plumule growth of test crops. The leaf and bark extracts of all trees inhibited the germination and seedling growth of Eleusine coracana, Echinochloa frumentacea and Phaseolus mungo except in G. max.
Allelopathy, Boemeria rugulosa, Brassica compestris, Celtis australis, Echinochloa frumentacea, Eleusine coracana, Ficus roxburghii, germination, growth, Grewia oppositifolia, Glycine max, Phaseolus mungo
