ALLELOPATHY OF SOME ESSENTIAL OIL PLANTS FROM UZBEKISTAN S.M. Turaeva, E.R. Kurbanova, Kh.A. Raxmatov S.Yu. Yunusov Institute of the Chemistry of Plant Substances Academy of sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan st. Mirzo-Ulugbek, 77, 100170 Tashkent e-mail: saidaicps@gmail.com
Allelopathy is a biological phenomenon by which an organism produces one or more
biochemical that influence the germination, growth, survival, and reproduction of other
organisms.
The term allelopathy derives from the Greek words "allelon" and "pathos"
which mean mutually and effect. They refer to the chemical interaction of plants
through organic secretions. Biogenic secretions are extremely important in the chemical
interaction of various organisms (from microbes to higher plants), called allelopathy,
and at various levels of their existence.
Plant allelopathy may result in either accelerated or retarded plant growth. The
process offers the potential for biological weed control through the production and
release of allelochemicals from leaves, flowers, seeds, stems and roots of living or
decaying plant materials.
Higher plants produce active compounds that promote seedling growth by
allelopathic inhibition of competitive vegetation. Weeds are permanent components of
agrophytocenoses and even though the number of weeds is controlled by a man with the
help of plant protection products and various agricultural practices, in agriculture they
are a by-product of evolution and occur in varying numbers in cultivated crops. The
study of the allelopathic effect of weeds on cultivated plants is of great practical
importance.
The research aims to study several plant species with allelopathic properties.
The most interesting is the active secretions (allelochemicals) of higher plants, in
particular, root exudates, which, entering the environment, can affect representatives of
both their own and other species growing in the neighborhood. For example, the roots
of many tree species (oak, maple, ash, etc.) release toxins that inhibit the development
of both their undergrowth and annual grasses. The spread of the black walnut (Juglans
nigra) root system, which releases into the soil a substance called juglone, which is a
respiration inhibitor for plants and eucalyptus (Eucalyptus), can be traced by the
absence of grass cover.
The allelopathic effect of some essential oil plants against some common weeds that
grow in fields and horticultural crops is demonstrated by
Mentha spicata L.,
Carum carvi L.,
Pimpinella anisum L.,
Coriandrum sativum L.,
Foeniculum vulgare Mill.,
Lavandula stoechas L.,
Origanum onites L.,
Rosmarinus officinalis L. and
Thymbra spicata L. against some common weeds that grow in field and horticultural crops.
The discovery of natural allelopathic compounds will reduce the use of synthetic
herbicides or even replace them with naturally occurring agents for weed control in
agrosystems.