Phytotoxic activity of Tamarixdioica extract against four plant species

TamarixdioicaGl Webster is used ethno-pharmacologically for the treatment of many diseases in Pakistan. The need to reduce harmful effects from the unsystematic use of herbicides has facilitated the development of weed management systems, which are based on ecological manipulations rather than agrochemicals. On this aspect, utilizing allelopathic plants to suppress or stop the weed growth may be the most cost-effective and environment-friendly method of weed control. Efforts were made to investigate the phytotoxic efficacy of T. dioicaagainst the growth of four plants Brachiariaramosa, Vignaradiata, ZeamaizandEchinochloa crus-galli under field and an in-vitro study. Three concentrations of crude methnolic extract; 1000µg ml-1, 600µg ml-1 and 200µg ml-1 were used under both the field and in-vitro studies. The T. dioicca extract showed significant inhibition both in hypocotyls/shoot and radicals/roots growth. T. dioica showed maximum inhibition in the growth of B. ramosa (43.34%±0.02) while, minimum in V. radiata (34.93%±0.02). The extract caused maximum reduction in the fresh and dry weights of E. crus-galli (1.86±0.09, 0.70±0.006), while minimum reduction was shown by V. radiata (8.36±0.09, 2.07±0.00).Overall, our results suggest that T. dioicamight be used affectively, as bioherbicide for weed control. Consequently, it will reduce dependency on synthetic agrochemicals