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Abstract [Objectives] This study was conducted to investigate the allopathic effects of the extracts of Asteraceae plants on plant seeds and seedlings. [Methods] The effects of the extracts of three Asteraceae plants (Erigeron annuus, Bidens pilosa and Inula japonica) on the seed germination and seedling growth of four plants (Setaria viridis, Erigeron canadensis, Chenopodium album and Lactuca sativa) were studied by the Petri dish filter paper method and bioassay method. [Results] Different concentrations (10 , 20 , 40 , 100 , 200 mg/ml) of the extracts of E. annuus , B. pilosa and I japonia had diferent allopathic effects on the seed germination of the same recipient plant, and with the increase of the concentrations of the extracts, the inhibitory effects were more significant. The extract of B. pilosa had the strongest inhibitory effect. The extracts at the low concentration (10 mg/ml) had no significant effects on the germination rates and germination energy of the four kinds of plant seeds. In terms of root growth and biomas, the extracts of E. annuus and I. japonica showed the effect of low promotion and high inhibition. Under the treatment with high concentrations (100, 200 mg/ml) of the extracts from the three Asteraceae plants, the germination of plant seeds, plant root length, stem height and biomass were inhibited. With the concentrations of the extracts of the three Compositae plants increasing, the chlorophyll contents of the four plants showed a downward trend, and the activity of SOD, POD, CAT and other antioxidant protective enzymes showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. [Conclusions] These three species of Asteraceae plants had certain allopathic inhibitory effects on the germination and growth of the four kinds of plant seeds, including S. viridis, E. canadensis, C. album and L. sativa, and they have potential in the development of botanical herbicides or plant protection.
Key words Asteraceae; Extract; Seed germination; Seedling growth; Allelopathy
Allelopathy exists widely in nature. Allelopathy of plants refers to the unfavorable or favorable effects of secondary metabolites produced by plants into the environment through leaching, volatilization, decomposition of residues and root excretion on other adjacent plants or themselves[17]. Asteraceae is the largest family of angiosperms, widely distributed all over the world, and there are about more than 2...