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Allelopathic and autotoxicity effects of barley (Hordeum vulgare L. ssp. vulgare) root exudates

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Abstract

The allelopathic activity of barley (Hordeum vulgare L. ssp. vulgare) root exudates was studied by comparing their effects on seedling establishment in barley itself and in two weed species, Bromus diandrus Roth. and Lolium rigidum Gaudin, using an original laboratory protocol, named ‘seed-after-seed’. In this protocol, the donor and the receiver species of water-soluble allelochemicals are grown one after the other in the same dishes, in conditions reducing resource competition between both species. Growth of all receptive species (weeds and barley) was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner, when using increasing barley seed densities (0, 8, 19 and 25 seeds per Petri dish). In our conditions, the barley varieties and landraces exhibited different allelopathic activities against weeds or barley. The allelopathic potential of the barley root exudates was also dependent on the receiver species. Indeed, the released allelochemicals proved to be more toxic against the weed plants than on barley itself. Furthermore, the toxicity of the allelochemicals increased after their release by roots, between day 0 and day 6. These allelochemicals might contribute to the plant community dynamics and their usefulness as bio-herbicides deserves further consideration.

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Acknowledgments

During this work, the first author was recipient of a PhD fellowship of the Erasmus Mundus Averroès Partnerships Action of the European Commission. We would like to thank François Rochet for her valuable help in statistical analysis. This work was funded by internal grants of Gembloux-Agro Bio Tech, University of Liège, Belgium.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Biology Laboratory, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, 2 Passage de Déportés, 5030, Gembloux, Belgium

    Imen Bouhaouel, Aurélie Gfeller & Patrick du Jardin

  2. General and Organic Chemistry Laboratory, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, 2 Passage de Déportés, 5030, Gembloux, Belgium

    Marie-Laure Fauconnier

  3. Genetics and Plant Breeding Laboratory, Department of Agronomy and Plant Biotechnology, National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia, 43 Charles Nicolle Street, 1082, Tunis Mahragene, Tunisia

    Imen Bouhaouel, Salah Rezgui & Hajer Slim Amara

  4. Swiss Federal Research Station Agroscope Changins Wädenswil AC, 1260, Nyon, Switzerland

    Aurélie Gfeller

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  1. Imen Bouhaouel
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Correspondence to Imen Bouhaouel.

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Bouhaouel, I., Gfeller, A., Fauconnier, ML. et al. Allelopathic and autotoxicity effects of barley (Hordeum vulgare L. ssp. vulgare) root exudates. BioControl 60, 425–436 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-014-9634-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-014-9634-3

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