Allelopathic effects of Melia azedarach, Morus alba and Moringa oleifera on germination, radicle and plumule growth of Glycine max

Abstract

Allelopathy is a natural phenomenon where plant-plant interactions play an important role. Allelopathy plays a significant role under both natural and managed ecosystems (Rice, 1984), and adversely affects seed germination and seedling growth. Rice (1984) defined allelopathy as a process by which plants release chemical compounds in their environment to keep themselves with a competitive advantage (Kong et al., 2004). There are hundreds of secondary metabolites in the plant kingdom and many are known to be phytotoxic (Einhellig, 2002). Compounds such as phenolics, terpenoids, alkaloids, fatty acids, steroids and polyacetylenes are known to play an important role in allelopathy, which includes positive and negative effects in the plants (Inderjit, 1996).