Allelopathic appraisal effects of straw extract wheat varieties on the growth of corn

Abstract

Allelopathy is a process in which secondary metabolites produced by plants, micro-organisms, viruses and fungi control growth and development of other biological systems. Some plants may beneficially or antagonistically affect other plants through allelochemical compounds which may be released directly or indirectly from live or dead parts and cause allelopathic and phytotoxic effects. In Kerman province of Iran, cultivating corn after winter wheat usually causes less growth and yield, hence, this study was conducted to estimate the effects of different concentrations of two native Iranian wheat (Alvand and Falat) straw extracts on germination, radicle growth, coleoptile length, plant height, leaf area (LA), wet weight (WW) and dry weight (DW) of two hybrid corn varieties (single cross 704 and 647). Results showed that the straw extracts had significant negative allelopathic effects on both corn varieties' growth. Furthermore, based on the study results, we suggest that before corn cultivation, wheat straw and residues should be eliminated from the field by leaving no-till fields fallow to avoid negative allelopathic effects of wheat straw on corn growth.

Key words: Allelopathic, corn, wheat straw.