1Key Laboratory of Agroecology and Rural Environment of Guangdong Regular Higher Education Institutions, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou510642, China.
2Key Laboratory of Ecological Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou510642, China.
Research Centre for Chemical Ecology, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
*Correspondence author; E. Mail: rszeng@scau.edu.cn, rlw2009@scau.edu.cn
Tephrosia vogelii Hook. f. is legume plant used to produce insecticidal rotenoid and numerous ethno-medicines. However, little is known about its allelopathic effects. To find its allelopathic potential in weed control, bioassays were conducted with aqueous leachates of its fresh leaves, leaf volatiles and leaf litter leachates against the seed germination and growth of 3 weed species (Festuca arundinacea Schreb., Cynodon dactylon (L.)Pers. and Digitaria sanguinalis (L.)Scop.). Field experiment was done using dry leaves of T. vogelii as mulches on soil surface to evaluate their allelopathic potential on corn (Zea mays L.) and weeds. Bioassay showed that the aqueous leachates from fresh leaves at ≥ 0.05 g/mL and the volatiles of T. vogelii at ≥ 0.03 g/cm3 significantly inhibited the seed germination and seedling growth of all three tested weed plants. Field experiment showed that T. vogelii mulching increased the biomass of corn by 14.0%, but also decreased the total biomass of weeds (15.8% at 200 g/m2). Both laboratory and field experiments showed that T. vogelii had allelopathic effects on some weeds, suggesting the possibility of using its allelopathic potential, insecticidal activity and nitrogen fixation of T. vogelii for sustainable pest management and organic fertilizer.
Allelopathy, Cynodon dactylon, Digitaria sanguinalis, Festuca arundinacea, Tephrosia vogelii, weed control
