Weed suppressive traits of winter cereals: Allelopathy and competition

Publication date: February 2018 Source:Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, Volume 76 Author(s): Antje Reiss, Inge S. Fomsgaard, Solvejg K. Mathiassen, Per Kudsk Weed suppressive potential of 33 winter wheat, 24 winter rye and 11 winter triticale cultivars recently introduced to the Scandinavian market was investigated. Competitive traits recorded were early vigor, leaf area index and crop height. Allelopathic potential was assessed by analyzing plant root and shoot material by LC-MS/MS for their content of 12 phytotoxic metabolites of the chemical group of benzoxazinoids (BX). Total BX content was highest in rye, followed by triticale and wheat. Benzoxazinoid composition varied between species with non-methoxy substituted BX dominating in rye and methoxy substituted BX dominating in wheat and triticale. Principal component analysis exhibited a clear relationship of allelopathic and competitive traits, together explaining 62% of the variance in the data set. This result underlines the need for further investigations of the relative contribution of allelopathy and competition to weed suppression in future studies. Graphical abstract
Source: Biochemical Systematics and Ecology - Category: Biochemistry Source Type: research