Weed infestation can be harmful to crop growth and cause
severe losses in yield by absorbing nutrients and releasing inhibitory
secondary metabolites and thus needs to be controlled for food security.
The use of synthetic herbicides is one of the most widely applied methods,
but its frequent usage is a serious threat to health and the environment and
develops resistance in weeds. Allelopathy is an eco-friendly bio-control
method, and Trianthema portulacastrum extracts are known to be effective
against various weeds in the crop of Triticum aestivum (wheat), but their
effect on the main crop (wheat) is still unknown. The pot experiment was
carried out, and various concentrations (30, 60, and 100%) of root and
shoot extracts of T. portulacastrum and a synthetic herbicide (Metafin
Super) along with control (distilled water) were applied to the wheat
plants. Various morphological, physiological, and anatomical parameters
were recorded under natural conditions. The objective of this study was to explore the allelopathic impact of T. portulacastrum
compared to the synthetic herbicide on the growth of wheat. This study displayed that various growth characteristics of wheat were
significantly affected at p ≤ 0.05 by root and shoot water extracts of T. portulacastrum but were less inhibitory as compared to the
synthetic herbicide. This inhibition of the growth of wheat was coupled with a significant increase in total free amino acids, K ions,
CAT (catalase), proline, epidermal and cortical thickness, and abaxial stomatal density. In addition, a reduction in growth parameters
was correlated with a decrease in photosynthetic pigments. This study revealed that the use of T. portulacastrum extracts could be
safer than synthetic herbicides for wheat plants and would be beneficial to control weeds in a wheat field. |
