COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF SOIL ALLELOPATHIC ACTIVITY IN DIFFERENT AGROECOSYSTEMS USING SEEDLING MORPHOMETRIC TRAITS OF 16 TEST SPECIES
Keywords:
allelopathy, agroecosystems, bioassay, seedling morphometry, Response Index, test plant species.Abstract
The results of a comparative assessment of the allelopathic activity of soils from different agroecosystems based on morphometric characteristics of seedlings of 16 test plant species are presented. The relevance of the study is determined by the crucial role of early ontogenetic stages in the development of plant competitiveness, as well as by the importance of soil as a complex biogeochemical environment capable of accumulating and transforming allelochemical compounds.
The study was conducted using laboratory bioassays on a typical medium-humus, medium-loamy Chernozem from the Poltava region of Ukraine. Soil samples were collected from four agroecosystems: apricot (Prunus armeniaca) plantations, walnut (Juglans regia L.) plantations, a purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) plantation, and a fallow area dominated by mixed herbaceous vegetation. Quartz sand served as the control substrate. Plant responses were evaluated using seed germination, root length, shoot length, and total seedling length. In total, 16 000 morphometric measurements were analyzed. Allelopathic effects were quantified using the normalized Response Index (NRI) according to the method proposed by Williamson and Richardson.
Considerable interspecific variability in the initial morphometric characteristics of seedlings was observed. The allelopathic responses of the test species were highly species-specific and selective. The most sensitive species to inhibitory effects were beetroot (mean NRI = -0.438), dill (-0.212), lupine (-0.206), and pumpkin (-0.174). Consistent growth stimulation across all substrate treatments was recorded for white mustard (+0.402), sand onion (+0.365), basil (+0.324), and Welsh onion (+0.297).
Among the investigated agroecosystems, the strongest inhibitory effect was detected in soil collected from the purple coneflower plantation (mean NRI = -0.086), which suppressed 10 of the 16 test species. In contrast, soil from the fallow ecosystem exhibited predominantly stimulatory effects (mean NRI = +0.130), with positive NRI values recorded for 11 species. Soil under walnut plantations showed the highest variability and contrast in plant responses (SD = 0.328; NRI range = 1.210). The obtained results indicate the selective nature of the allelopathic effects exerted by soils of different agroecosystems and confirm the effectiveness of using a set of test species for assessing the allelopathic activity of the soil environment.
References
Finch-Savage, W. E., & Bassel, G. W. (2016). Seed vigour and crop establishment: extending performance beyond adaptation. Journal of Experimental Botany, 67(3), 567-591. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erv490.
Reed, R. C., Bradford, K.J., & Khanday, I. (2022). Seed germination and vigor: ensuring crop sustainability in a changing climate. Heredity (Edinb), 128(6), 450-459. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41437-022-00497-2.
Gu, J., Chao, H., Gan, L., Guo, L., Zhang, K., Li, Y., Wang, H., Raboanatahiry, N., & Li, M. (2016). Proteomic dissection of seed germination and seedling establishment in Brassica napus. Frontiers in Plant Science, 7, 1482. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2016.01482.
Van der Heijden, M. G. A., Bardgett, R. D., & van Straalen, N. M. (2008). The unseen majority: soil microbes as drivers of plant diversity and productivity in terrestrial ecosystems. Ecology Letters, 11(3), 296-310. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2007.01139.x.
C. Wagg, S. F. Bende,r F. Widmer, & van der Heijden, M. G. A. (2014). Soil biodiversity and soil community composition determine ecosystem multifunctionality. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A, 111(14), 5266-5270. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1320054111.
Chou, C. H. (1999). Roles of allelopathy in plant biodiversity and sustainable agriculture. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, 18(5), 609-636. https://doi.org/10.1080/07352689991309414.
Bertholdsson, N.-O. (2012). Allelopathy – A Tool to Improve the Weed Competitive Ability of Wheat with Herbicide-Resistant Black-Grass (Alopecurus myosuroides Huds.). Agronomy, 2(4), 284-294. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy2040284.
Inderjit, S., & Duke, S. O. (2003). Ecophysiological aspects of allelopathy. Planta, 217(4), 529-539. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-003-1054-z.
Willis, R. J. (2007). The history of allelopathy. Dordrecht: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4093-1.
Jose, S., & Gillespie, A. R. (1998). Allelopathy in black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) alley cropping. I. Spatio-temporal variation in soil juglone in a black walnut-corn (Zea maysL.) alley cropping system in the midwestern USA. Plant and Soil, 203, 191-197. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004301309997.
Wang, C., Liu, Z., Wang, Z., Pang, W., Zhang, L., Wen, Z., Zhao, Y., Sun, J., Wang, Z.-Y., & Yang, C. (2022). Effects of autotoxicity and allelopathy on seed germination and seedling growth in Medicago truncatula. Frontiers in Plant Science, 13, 908426. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.908426.
Kruse, M., Strandberg, M., & Strandberg, B. (2000). Ecological Effects of Allelopathic Plants: A Review. NERI Technical Report No. 315. Silkeborg: National Environmental Research Institute. https://www2.dmu.dk/1_viden/2_publikationer/3_fagrapporter/rapporter/fr315.pdf.
Macias, F. A., Marin, D., Oliveros-Bastidas, A., Varela, R. M., Simonet, A. M., Carrera, C., & Molinillo, J. M. G. Allelopathy as a new strategy for sustainable ecosystems development. Biological Sciences in Space, 17(1), 18-23. https://doi.org/10.2187/bss.17.18.
Scavo, A., Abbate, C., & Mauromicale, G. (2019). Plant allelochemicals: agronomic, nutritional and ecological relevance in the soil system. Plant and Soil, 442, 23-48. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-019-04190-y.
Williamson, G. B., & Richardson, D. (1988). Bioassays for allelopathy: measuring treatment responses with independent controls. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 14(1), 181-187. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01022540.
Ahmed Hiwa, M., Amiri-Ardekani, E., & Ebadi, S. (2022). Phytotoxicity of Natural Molecules Derived from Cereal Crops as a Means to Increase Yield Productivity. International Journal of Agronomy, 2022(1), 4223853. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/4223853.
VanVolkenburg, H., Guinel, F. C., & Vasseur, L. (2020). Impacts of Smooth Pigweed (Amaranthus hybridus) on Cover Crops in Southern Ontario. Agronomy, 10(4), 529. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10040529.
Al-Andal, A., Radwan, A. M., Donia, A. E., & Balah, M. A. (2025). Allelopathic pathways and impacts of Chenopodium species via leachates, decaying residues, and essential oils. PLOS One, 20, e0321782. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0321782.
Singh, H. P., Batish, D. R., & Kohli, R. K. (2001). Allelopathy in Agroecosystems. Journal of Crop Production, 4(2), 1-41. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003578253.
Uddin, M. N., Asaeda, T., Shampa, S. H., & Robinson, R. W. (2020). Allelopathy and its coevolutionary implications between native and non‐native neighbors of invasive Cynara cardunculus L. Ecology and Evolution, 10, 7463-7475. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6472.
Lebedev, V. G., Krutovsky, K. V., & Shestibratov, K. A. (2019). … Fell Upas Sits, the Hydra-Tree of Death †, or the Phytotoxicity of Trees. Molecules, 24(8), 1636. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24081636.
Wang, X., Cao, Y., Jin, Y., Sun, L., Tang, F., & Dong, L. (2024). Ecophysiological Trade-Off Strategies of Three Gramineous Crops in Response to Root Extracts of Phytolacca americana. Plants, 13(21), 3026. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13213026.
Zubay, P., Kunzelmann, J., Ittzés, A., Németh Zámboriné, É., & Szabó, K. (2021). Allelopathic effects of leachates of Juglans regia L., Populus tremula L. and juglone on germination of temperate zone cultivated medicinal and aromatic plants. Agroforestry Systems, 95, 431-442. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-020-00572-9.
Menalled, U. D., Seipel, T. F., & Menalled, F. D. (2020). Farming system effects on biologically mediated plant-soil feedbacks. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 36(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742170519000528.
Zhang, X., Liu, Z., Tian, N., Chen, K., & Luc, N. T. (2015). Allellopathic impacts of leaf litters decomposition from intercrop tree species on soybean. Advance Journal of Food Science and Technology, 7(12), 971-976. https://doi.org/10.19026/ajfst.7.2545.
Koyama, A., Dias, T., & Antunes, P. M. (2021). Application of plant–soil feedbacks in the selection of crop rotation sequences. Ecological Applications, 32(2), e2501. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2501.
Achatz, M., Morris, E. K., Müller, F., Hilker, M., & Rillig, M. C. (2014). Soil hypha-mediated movement of allelochemicals: arbuscular mycorrhizae extend the bioactive zone of juglone. Functional Ecology, 28(4), 1020-1029. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12208.
Mahé, I., Chauvel, B., Colbach N., Cordeau, S., Gfeller, A. É., Reiss, A., & Moreau, D. (2022). Deciphering field-based evidences for crop allelopathy in weed regulation. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 42, 50. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-021-00749-1.
Li, Y., Allen, V. G., Chen, J., & Wester, D. B. (2025). Allelopathic Trade-Offs of Rye and Wheat Residues Versus 2-Benzoxazolinone: Impacts on Cotton Growth. Biology, 14(10), 1321. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14101321.
Aguiar, M., Conway, A. J., Bell, J. K., & Stewart, K. J. (2023). Agroecosystem edge effects on vegetation, soil properties, and the soil microbial community in the Canadian prairie. PLoS One, 18(4), e0283832. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283832.
Țopa, D.-C., Căpșună, S., Calistru, A.-E., & Ailincăi, C. (2025). Sustainable practices for enhancing soil health and crop quality in modern agriculture: a review. Agriculture, 15(9), 998. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15090998.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
