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Allelopathic Bacteria as an Alternate Weedicide: Progress and Future Standpoints

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Abstract

The ever increasing population and global issue for food security have led us to use multiple approaches to overcome the weed problems that can reduce the crop productivity up to 70%. Chemical herbicides and mechanical and other biological approaches have overcome weed problem on one hand but also destroy the environment and caused some human health impacts on the other hand. Bioherbicides are biological control agents applied in similar ways to chemical herbicides to control weeds. There is a group of rhizobacteria that is being overlooked due to its non-parasitic nature towards plants; this group of rhizobacteria is known as allelopathic bacteria. It can excrete cyanide, phytohormones, and phytotoxins that can affect the metabolism of weeds negatively. Allelopathic bacteria emerge as an alternative and more effective weed control approach which not only eradicate the weed problem but also enhances the growth of the crops. This chapter will explain the general comparison between the different weed control approaches. The importance and impacts of the bioherbicides will also be explained also by elaborating the constraints which this approach is facing in its production and application.

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Acknowledgments

Authors acknowledge the time given by Mr. Waqas Mohy Ud Din for reviewing this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

    Muhammad Mahroz Hussain & Zia Ur Rahman Farooqi

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  1. Muhammad Mahroz Hussain
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  2. Zia Ur Rahman Farooqi
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    Khalid Rehman Hakeem

  2. Department of Environmental Science, Sri Pratap College, Cluster University, Higher Education Department, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India

    Gowhar Hamid Dar

  3. Department of Environment & Water Management, Sri Pratap College, Cluster University, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India

    Mohammad Aneesul Mehmood

  4. Division of Environmental Sciences, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir-Srinagar, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India

    Rouf Ahmad Bhat

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Hussain, M.M., Farooqi, Z.U.R. (2021). Allelopathic Bacteria as an Alternate Weedicide: Progress and Future Standpoints. In: Hakeem, K.R., Dar, G.H., Mehmood, M.A., Bhat, R.A. (eds) Microbiota and Biofertilizers. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48771-3_13

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