Summary
Effects of asparagus root exudates on the growth and nutrient uptake of the seedlings of the same species in vermiculite culture were investigated. The phytotoxicity of collected root exudates of asparagus was tested by asparagus seed bioassay. Root exudates were washed from the donor pot to the acceptor pot. The height and number of stalks of asparagus seedlings of three varieties. Mary Washington, California 309 and 711 receiving root exudates were significantly reduced. No significant difference was observed in the growth of seedlings among these three varieties. N, P and K contents in the tops of asparagus seedlings were unaffected by root exudate treatments. The growth of asparagus radicle and shoot was inhibited by the root exudates collected from a resin trapping system. Bioassay results obtained with root exudates where the inhibition of shoot growth by root exudate was greater than that of root growth corresponded to the result in vermiculite culture. These data suggested that asparagus is an autoinhibited species which root exudates inhibit its own growth. Autointoxication as a possible mechanism for the yield decline and missing of plants in the replanting of asparagus in the tropics is discussed.
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Young, C.C. Autointoxication in root exudates ofAsparagus officinalis L.. Plant Soil 82, 247–253 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02220251
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02220251