Vol. 11, Issue 12 (2022)

Author(s):
Uday Bhanu Pratap, KS Pant, Deepshikha Nirala and Prabhat Tiwari

Abstract:
Present investigations were undertaken to assess the phytotoxic effects of aqueous leaf extract and leaf litter of Melia composita willd. on germination, growth, biomass and yield of Raphanus sativus and Abelmoschus esculentus in laboratory as well as in pot culture. The extract and leaf litter of M. composita suppress the germination, early growth and biomass of both the test crops. Suppression in germination and early growth increased sharply with the increasing concentration of aqueous extract or leaf litter quantity of M. composita.Nonetheless, pot test, revealed that there was no significant negative effect of leaf litter on later growth, biomass and yield of both test crops. This demonstrates that the secondary plant metabolites known as allelochemicals present in M. composita are ephemeral in nature and their impact is temporary which got alleviated over time.Consequently, M. composita is recommended for growing in different agroforestry systems.