Ways to Use Allelopathic Potential for Weed Management: A Review
Tanveer Abbas, Ali Ahmad, Ahmad Kamal, M. Nawaz, Muhammad Ahsan Jamil, Tasbiha Saeed, Muhammad Asif Abid, Hafiz Hussain Ali, Muhammad Ateeq
Abstract
A large number of plant and weed species produce secondary metabolites known as allelochemicals, and the process is known as allelopathy. Allelochemicals can be used to control weeds in agricultural systems by using allelopathic crops for intercropping, crop rotation, or mulching. A few important examples of crop species with high allelopathic potential may include (but not limited to) wheat, rice, sorghum, rye, barley, and sunflower. The naturally produced allelochemicals in these crops could be manipulated to suppress weeds and witness an environment-friendly and sustainable agricultural production system. The objective of this article is to review the opportunities for using allelopathy to enhance overall potentiality of weeds and crops in natural weed management. Allelopathy is the beneficial or adverse effect of one plant on another due to direct or indirect release of chemicals from live or dead plants (including microorganisms). Although we cannot discard use of synthetic herbicides completely at the present situation but their use can be reduced up to a specific extent by using allelopathic potentiality as a preferred weed management strategy for crop production as well as environmental benefits.