- Bangladesh
A.K.M Mominul Islam
Bangladesh Agricultural University, Agronomy, Faculty Member
Growing two or more cultivars of same crop species in mixture reduces intra-specific competition for natural resources and increases competitive ability of crops against weed growth and thus enhances crop yield. The objective of this... more
Growing two or more cultivars of same crop species in mixture reduces intra-specific competition for natural resources and increases competitive ability of crops against weed growth and thus enhances crop yield. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potentiality of growing rice cultivars in mixtures in temporal dimension for minimizing weed pressure and increasing rice yield and to determine the best time of introduction of one cultivar in relation to another cultivar. The experiment was conducted at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh during aman season (July-December) 2017. Two transplanted aman rice cultivars having different plant height and growth duration viz. Binadhan-13 (tall, late- maturing and fine grained aromatic rice cultivar) and BRRI dhan49 (semi-dwarf, mid-maturing and coarse grained rice cultivar) were used in this study. The experiment comprised time of introduction of BRRI dhan49 namely 7 days before Binadhan-13,...
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Purpose: Aphanamixis polystachya (Wall.) R.N. Parker, belonging to Meliaceae family is very well known for its medicinal properties. But its allelopathic potentiality not yet has been reported. Hence, aqueous extracts of different parts... more
Purpose: Aphanamixis polystachya (Wall.) R.N. Parker, belonging to Meliaceae family is very well known for its medicinal properties. But its allelopathic potentiality not yet has been reported. Hence, aqueous extracts of different parts of Aphanamixis polystachya were examined to investigate their allelopathic potentiality. Research Method: Different parts of A. polystachya extracts at four different concentrations (1:5, 1:10, 1:15 and 1:20 (w/v)) along with control (distilled water without extracts) were tested against jute, mungbean, mustard, radish, rice, wheat and tomato. The experiments were conducted following completely randomized design with three replicates. Findings: Among the test crop species, shoot growth of mustard was most sensitive (43% average inhibition (a.i.)) followed by radish (41% a.i.) to the extracts of different parts of A. polystachya., whereas shoot growth of tomato (14% a.i.) was less sensitive to the extracts followed by rice (25% a.i.) and mungbean (29%...
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Dry direct-seeded rice (Oryza sativa L.), a climate-smart and resource-efficient (labor and water) rice production technology is gaining popularity in many parts of Asian countries; however, weeds are the major constraints for its early... more
Dry direct-seeded rice (Oryza sativa L.), a climate-smart and resource-efficient (labor and water) rice production technology is gaining popularity in many parts of Asian countries; however, weeds are the major constraints for its early establishment and optimum productivity. Chemical weed management is effective, rapid, and also decreases weed management costs in dry direct-seeded rice (DSR) system; however, chemical use for weed management have a negative effect on the environment and also have human health hazards. Therefore, integrated weed management (IWM) is the best option for the sustainability of rice production under the DSR system. Improving competitiveness against weeds, weed-competitive rice cultivars, and high seeding rates were found to be the most promising IWM strategies in DSR. In this context, a field study was conducted to evaluate the weed competitiveness of rice cultivars and seeding rates on the performance of aus rice in dry direct-seeded systems in Banglades...
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The study was carried out at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University during January to May 2019 to investigate the seed priming influence on the growth, weed suppression ability and yield of BRRI dhan29 and weed... more
The study was carried out at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University during January to May 2019 to investigate the seed priming influence on the growth, weed suppression ability and yield of BRRI dhan29 and weed growth under dry direct seeded (DDS) condition. Seed priming agents included NaCl (20000 and 30000 ppm), KCl (20000 and 30000 ppm), CaCl2 (20000 and 30000 ppm), CuSO4 (50 and 75 ppm), ZnSO4 (10000 and 15000 ppm), Na2MoO4 (2 and 3 ppm), PEG (100 and 150 ppm) and control (no priming). The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Data were collected on growth, yield parameters, yield of rice and weed growth in terms of weed density and dry matter. Rice plant height and tillering ability were significantly enhanced due to seed priming. Among yield parameters, number of effective tillers hill-1 and number of grains panicle-1 were positively influenced due to seed priming resulting yield enhancement up to 18% ...
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Grain legumes are important sources of proteins, essential micronutrients and vitamins and for human nutrition. Climate change, including drought, is a severe threat to grain legume production throughout the world. In this review, the... more
Grain legumes are important sources of proteins, essential micronutrients and vitamins and for human nutrition. Climate change, including drought, is a severe threat to grain legume production throughout the world. In this review, the morpho-physiological, physio-biochemical and molecular levels of drought stress in legumes are described. Moreover, different tolerance mechanisms, such as the morphological, physio-biochemical and molecular mechanisms of legumes, are also reviewed. Moreover, various management approaches for mitigating the drought stress effects in grain legumes are assessed. Reduced leaf area, shoot and root growth, chlorophyll content, stomatal conductance, CO2 influx, nutrient uptake and translocation, and water-use efficiency (WUE) ultimately affect legume yields. The yield loss of grain legumes varies from species to species, even variety to variety within a species, depending upon the severity of drought stress and several other factors, such as phenology, soil ...
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Growing two or more cultivars of the same crop species in mixture reduces intra-specific competition for growth resources by inducing variation in spatial and temporal patterns of crop growth, increases competitive ability of crops... more
Growing two or more cultivars of the same crop species in mixture reduces intra-specific competition for growth resources by inducing variation in spatial and temporal patterns of crop growth, increases competitive ability of crops against weeds and thus enhances crop yield. This study was conducted to evaluate the potentiality of wheat cultivar mixtures to reduce weed growth and increase the wheat yield under different irrigation regimes, and determine the best row mixture ratio of two wheat cultivars for better weed suppression and higher productivity of wheat. Factors included seven cultivar mixture ratios viz. sole BARI Gom 25, sole BARI Gom 30, 1:2, 2:1, 2:3, 3:2 and 1:1 of BARI Gom 25 to BARI Gom 30, and three water management practices viz. no irrigation, one irrigation at crown root initiation (CRI) stage, and two irrigation at CRI and flowering stages arranged in a split-plot design with three replications. Results clearly indicated that cultivar mixture can improve the com...
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Abiotic stresses varyingly affect the grain composition and quality of food legumes. This paper is aimed at discussing the impact of abiotic stresses on the grain composition and quality of food legumes. As protein is the main grain... more
Abiotic stresses varyingly affect the grain composition and quality of food legumes. This paper is aimed at discussing the impact of abiotic stresses on the grain composition and quality of food legumes. As protein is the main grain constituent of food legumes for which it is being consumed by humans as a cheap protein source, abiotic stresses such as heat, cold, drought, salinity and heavy metals alter this grain protein content in different dimensions for different food legumes. Moreover, other valuable constituents such as starch, soluble sugar, oil, fatty acid and fiber content are affected differently by the abiotic stresses. The diverse impact of these abiotic stresses ultimately declines the grain quality and yield of food legumes. As food legumes play a vital role in the nutritional diet of millions of people in the world and are occasionally denoted as the meat of poor people, it is important to recognize that the sustainable production of food legumes, even under various e...
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Aim The efficiency test of phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) biofertilizer had two objectives: (i) to study the effect of the use of PSB on phosphate solubilization of the Takhli (Tk) soil series in soil columns and, (ii) to study... more
Aim The efficiency test of phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) biofertilizer had two objectives: (i) to study the effect of the use of PSB on phosphate solubilization of the Takhli (Tk) soil series in soil columns and, (ii) to study their impact on sugarcane (cv. Lampang) cultivation in pots. Methods PSB were identified and examined for phosphate-solubilizing activity on culture medium. In soil columns, the available phosphorus was analyzed from leached water. In pots, the yield and yield components of sugarcane were measured at age 12 months . Results The PSB belonged to the Bacillus group. The use of PSB at a rate of 64 g kg −1 in the Tk soil series produced the highest available phosphorus at 30.00 mg L −1 at 90 days under the soil column. PSB with chemical fertilizers according to soil analysis improved the yield and yield components of sugarcane with increasing rates of PSB. The maximum yield of sugarcane was produced with N:P:K chemical fertilizer (47:47:47 kg ha −1 ) with the PSB rate of 225 kg ha −1 . Conclusions Application of PSB can address the problem of phosphorus fixation in the Takhli soil series. Furthermore, the PSB had the ability to promote the yield and yield components of sugarcane cultivation in pots.
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Weed-competitive rice cultivars, a viable tool for integrated weed management of rice-field weeds, may greatly reduce the weed pressure and excessive dependence on herbicide in controlling weeds. Based on this premise, field experiments... more
Weed-competitive rice cultivars, a viable tool for integrated weed management of rice-field weeds, may greatly reduce the weed pressure and excessive dependence on herbicide in controlling weeds. Based on this premise, field experiments were conducted in 2018 and 2019 during the monsoon and winter rice-growing seasons at the Agronomy Field Laboratory of Bangladesh Agricultural University, Bangladesh, to evaluate the weed competitiveness of the selected rice varieties. A total of 42 monsoon and 28 winter rice varieties from Bangladesh were evaluated under “weedy” and “weed-free” conditions in the puddled transplanted system of cultivation. The field experiments were designed with three replications in a randomized complete block design. The results revealed that weed competition greatly reduces the yield of rice, and relative yield loss was 15–68% and 20–50% in monsoon and winter season rice, respectively. The lowest relative yield losses were recorded in monsoon rice from the variet...
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The research work was conducted at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, in the fiscal year 2017-2018 to study the dry matter partitioning of maize plant affected by water management at different... more
The research work was conducted at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, in the fiscal year 2017-2018 to study the dry matter partitioning of maize plant affected by water management at different growth stages. The research was conducted in a split plot design with three replications where irrigation stages were allocated in main plots and varieties were allocated in sub plots. There were five irrigation management treatments viz. I0 – (No irrigation), I1 – (Four leaf stage + eight leaf stage + tasselling stage+ grain filling stage), I2 – (Four leaf stage+ eight leaf stage + tasselling stage), I3- (Eight leaf stage + tasselling stage +grain filling stage), I4 -(Four leaf stage + tasselling stage+ grain filling stage), I5 -(Four leaf stage+ eight leaf stage+ grain filling stage) and there were three varieties viz. V1 – (BARI hybrid vutta-9), V2 – (BARI hybrid vutta-13), V3 – (pacific-559) in the experiment. The highest dry matter by root, culm...
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This study aimed to determine the impact of land use on organic carbon (OC) pools of soils with contrasting native organic matter (OM) content. Surface (0–15 cm) soils of four land uses (cropland, orchard, grassland, and fallow) were... more
This study aimed to determine the impact of land use on organic carbon (OC) pools of soils with contrasting native organic matter (OM) content. Surface (0–15 cm) soils of four land uses (cropland, orchard, grassland, and fallow) were collected from four agroecological zones (AEZs) of Bangladesh with different OM content (AEZ-7: very low, −3: low, −9: medium, and −5: high). Bulk soils were physically fractionated into particulate and mineral associated OM (POM and MOM: >53 and <53 µm, respectively). Both bulk and fractionated soils were analyzed for OC and nitrogen (N). Among the land uses, undisturbed soils (grassland and fallow land) had significantly higher total OC (0.44–1.79%) than disturbed soils (orchard and cropland) (0.39–1.67%) in all AEZs. The distribution of OC and N in POM and MOM fractions was significantly different among land uses and also varied with native OM content. In all AEZs, cropland soils showed the lowest POM-C content (0.40–1.41%), whereas the orchard...
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Current study aims to investigate into the allelopathic potential of the different parts (leaf, bark, stem, twig and root) of three oil-enrich plant species of Bangladesh viz., Jatropha curcus, Ricinus communis and Aphanamixis... more
Current study aims to investigate into the allelopathic potential of the different parts (leaf, bark, stem, twig and root) of three oil-enrich plant species of Bangladesh viz., Jatropha curcus, Ricinus communis and Aphanamixis polystachya. The aqueous extract of those plant parts were diluted into four different concentrations viz., 1:5, 1:10, 1:15, 1:20 (w/v) and tested against the seedling growth of jute, rice, wheat, radish, tomato, mungbean and mustard under control laboratory condition. A control (distilled water without extract) was also maintained in every cases and the bioassay experiment was replicated thrice. The results of this research showed that the shoot and root growth inhibition of rice, wheat, jute, tomato, radish, mungbean and mustard by leaf, bark, stem, twig and root extracts of J. curcus, R. communis and A. polystachya varied significantly. Compare to the shoot growth, the root growth of the test species inhibited more except J. curcus. The leaf and root have h...
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Growing two or more cultivars of same crop species in mixture reduces intra-specific competition for natural resources and increases competitive ability of crops against weeds and thus enhances crop yield. The objective of this study was... more
Growing two or more cultivars of same crop species in mixture reduces intra-specific competition for natural resources and increases competitive ability of crops against weeds and thus enhances crop yield. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potentiality of growing rice cultivars in mixtures for minimizing weed pressure and increasing rice yield. The experiment was conducted at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh during Aman season (July-December) 2017. Two transplant Aman rice cultivars viz. Binadhan-13 (tall, late- maturing and fine grain aromatic cultivar) and BRRI dhan49 (semi-dwarf, mid-maturing and coarse grain cultivar) were grown following two spatial arrangements viz., alternate row and alternate hill, and nine different cultivar mixture (Binadhan-13:BRRI dhan49) row ratios viz., 1:0, 1:2, 2:1, 2:3, 3:2, 2:4, 4:2,1:1 and 0:1. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications...
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Weed management is a challenging task in sustainable rice production. Physical and cultural methods of weed control are laborious and expensive, whereas chemical control is cheaper and less time consuming despite of some detrimental... more
Weed management is a challenging task in sustainable rice production. Physical and cultural methods of weed control are laborious and expensive, whereas chemical control is cheaper and less time consuming despite of some detrimental effect on environment with its inappropriate application. Considering these points, an experiment was conducted at the Agronomy Field Laboratory of Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh during July–December 2015 to find out appropriate weed management practices for inbred and hybrid rice. The experiment comprised of four rice varieties (two inbred; BRRI dhan49 and Binadhan-7, and two hybrids; Dhani gold and Agrodhan-12); and eight herbicidal weed control treatments (season-long weedy or weed free, Pretilachlor fb Penoxsolum or 2,4-D dimethyl amine, Pendimethalin fb Penoxsolum or 2,4-D dimethyl amine, Pretilachlor or Pendimethalin fb one-time hand weeding). Eleven weed species belonging to five families were observed in the experiment...
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The research work was conducted to find out the effect of variety, spacing of transplanting and nitrogen (N) rate on the growth, yield and protein content of transplant aman rice. The experiment consisted of three rice varieties: BR11,... more
The research work was conducted to find out the effect of variety, spacing of transplanting and nitrogen (N) rate on the growth, yield and protein content of transplant aman rice. The experiment consisted of three rice varieties: BR11, BRRI dhan49 and BRRI dhan56; two spacings of transplanting: 25 cm × 15 cm and 20 cm × 10 cm; and three N-levels: 0, 60 and 80 kg N ha -1. Morpho-physiological characters, yield contributing characters and yield of transplant aman rice were significantly influenced by variety, spacing of transplanting and N rate. Experimental results indicated that BRRI dhan49 in combination with 25 cm × 15 cm spacing and 80 kg N ha -1 gives the highest leaf area index, total dry matter content, crop growth rate, number of effective tillers hill -1 and number of grains pancle -1 , and lowest number of sterile spikelets panicle -1 and sterility percentage of grain. These growth and yield parameters attributed the highest grain yield (5.51 t ha -1 ) by this combination. ...
Jatropha carcus is an important plant for the commencement of energy plantation. Jatropha can be grown in marginal, degraded, waste lands in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. It is a partially domesticated plant hence... more
Jatropha carcus is an important plant for the commencement of energy plantation. Jatropha can be grown in marginal, degraded, waste lands in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. It is a partially domesticated plant hence development of high yielding cultivars and package of management practices needs prime importance. The most important use propagation is to produce high quality planting materials. Jatropha can propagate through seeds, cuttings and tissue culture. Due to poor seed germination, short viability and high heterozygosity seed propagation may not produce high quality planting materials. On the other hand propagation through vegetative means or micropropagation can be the most effective alternatives to produce quality seedlings with desirable traits for higher seed and oil yield. Vegetative propagation has inimitable significance to maintain homogeneity among the progeny and provide early production.
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Herbicide resistance due to the increasing reliance on herbicides is a near-term challenge for the world’s agriculture. This has led to a desire to develop new herbicides with a novel mode of action, to address resistance in weed species.... more
Herbicide resistance due to the increasing reliance on herbicides is a near-term challenge for the world’s agriculture. This has led to a desire to develop new herbicides with a novel mode of action, to address resistance in weed species. Lamiaceae, a large dicotyledonous plant family, is very well known for the multitudinous pharmacological and toxicological properties of its member species. Moreover, many species of this family are significant for their allelopathic activity in natural and laboratory settings. Thus, plants in Lamiaceae have the potential to be sources of alternative herbicides. However, gaps in our knowledge need to be addressed prior to adopting these allelopathic activities in agriculture. Therefore, we review the existing state of knowledge about the Lamiaceae family, the reported allelopathic properties of plant extracts, and their isolated allelochemicals under laboratory, greenhouse, and field conditions. In addition, we offer a perspective on existing chall...
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Crop production is a constant battle with weeds, in which weeds, generally, are victorious. Therefore, rather than channeling our efforts into the development of a “silver bullet” to control weeds, the focus should be on sustainable weed... more
Crop production is a constant battle with weeds, in which weeds, generally, are victorious. Therefore, rather than channeling our efforts into the development of a “silver bullet” to control weeds, the focus should be on sustainable weed management in both natural- and agro-ecosystems. However, sustainable weed management can be a challenge in the context of global climate change. Over the past few decades, global climate change, mostly indicated by phenomena such as increased atmospheric temperature and elevated CO2 levels, is evident due to human activities and natural events. These phenomena also affect regional/local climate, resulting in significant influences on the agricultural systems of a particular region. Rising CO2 levels may give comparative advantages to C3 plants through increased photosynthesis, biomass production and yield, compared to C4 plants. Plants with C4 photosynthetic pathways, on the other hand, are likely to benefit more from rising global temperatures tha...
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The allelopathic effect of various concentrations (0, 6.25, 12.5, 50 and 100 g L−1) of Parthenium hysterophorus methanol extract on Cyperus iria was investigated under laboratory and glasshouse conditions. No seed germination was recorded... more
The allelopathic effect of various concentrations (0, 6.25, 12.5, 50 and 100 g L−1) of Parthenium hysterophorus methanol extract on Cyperus iria was investigated under laboratory and glasshouse conditions. No seed germination was recorded in the laboratory when P. hysterophorus extract was applied at 50 g L−1. In the glasshouse, C. iria was mostly injured by P. hysterophorus extract at 100 g L−1. The phytochemical constituents of the methanol extract of P. hysterophorus were analyzed by LC-ESI-QTOF-MS=MS. The results indicated the presence of phenolic compounds, terpenoids, alkaloids, amino acids, fatty acids, piperazines, benzofuran, indole, amines, azoles, sulfonic acid and other unknown compounds in P. hysterophorus methanol extract. A comparative study was also conducted between P. hysterophorus extract (20, 40 and 80 g L−1) with a synthetic herbicide (glyphosate and glufosinate ammonium at 2 L ha−1) as a positive control and no treatment (negative control) on Ageratum conyzoide...
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Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) is more than an eye-catching crop and has been used in number of dishes, beverages and conventional remedy of diseases for centuries. It is popular for its edible fleshy calyces and leaves that are used... more
Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) is more than an eye-catching crop and has been used in number of dishes, beverages and conventional remedy of diseases for centuries. It is popular for its edible fleshy calyces and leaves that are used for making salads, tea, juices, jams, jellies, ice-cream, and many other products. In many countries of the world fresh calyces of roselle are harvested to produce pro-health drink due to its high vitamin C and anthocyanins contents. But in Bangladesh the roselle leaves and calyces are used as vegetables and its fibre is used as jute substitute. Roselle is also famous for its high nutritional and medicinal values. Nutritional analysis of the calyces of roselle showed that they are high in calcium, iron, niacin and riboflavin. It is also a source of antioxidants, anthocyanins which acts as free radical scavengers and inhibit lipid per-oxidation. Consumption of roselle products such as fresh juice, tea, jam, jelly or in the form of capsule rich in anthocyanin protect human body from the harmful reaction of free radical by antioxidant activity. Roselle is a multipurpose crop and has great potential to increase the income of farmers, producers, processors of Bangladesh by fetching higher market price both from export and local market.
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Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) is more than an eye-catching crop and has been used in number of dishes, beverages and conventional remedy of diseases for centuries. It is popular for its edible fleshy calyces and leaves that are used... more
Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) is more than an eye-catching crop and has been used in number of dishes, beverages and conventional remedy of diseases for centuries. It is popular for its edible fleshy calyces and leaves that are used for making salads, tea, juices, jams, jellies, ice-cream, and many other products. In many countries of the world fresh calyces of roselle are harvested to produce pro-health drink due to its high vitamin C and anthocyanins contents. But in Bangladesh the roselle leaves and calyces are used as vegetables and its fibre is used as jute substitute. Roselle is also famous for its high nutritional and medicinal values. Nutritional analysis of the calyces of roselle showed that they are high in calcium, iron, niacin and riboflavin. It is also a source of antioxidants, anthocyanins which acts as free radical scavengers and inhibit lipid per-oxidation. Consumption of roselle products such as fresh juice, tea, jam, jelly or in the form of capsule rich in anthocyanin protect human body from the harmful reaction of free radical by antioxidant activity. Roselle is a multipurpose crop and has great potential to increase the income of farmers, producers, processors of Bangladesh by fetching higher market price both from export and local market.
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The present study was undertaken to investigate the allelopathic potential of three mango (Mangifera indica) cultivars: Khirshapat, Himsagor and Sinduri. The aqueous methanol extracts of leaves at four different concentrations were... more
The present study was undertaken to investigate the allelopathic potential of three mango (Mangifera indica) cultivars: Khirshapat, Himsagor and Sinduri. The aqueous methanol extracts of leaves at four different concentrations were examined against germination and seedling growth of cress (Lepidum sativum), lettuce (Lactuca sativa), alfalfa (Medicago sativa), Italian rye grass (Lolium multiflorum), barnyard grass (Echinochloa crus-galli) and timothy (Phleum pratense). The germination and seedling growth of all test plant species were inhibited significantly by selected mango leaf extracts at concentrations greater than 0.01 g dry weight (DW) equivalent extract mL-1. The inhibitory activities of the extracts were proportional to the extract concentrations. At 0.1 g DW equivalent extract mL-1, a significant delay or complete inhibition of germination were observed on all test plant species except for Sinduri extracts on barnyard grass. Alternatively, all extracts showed more than 70% hypocotyl/coleoptile and root growth inhibition of all test plant species except barnyard grass at the same concentration. The concentration required for 50% growth inhibition (I50) on the hypocotyls/coleoptiles and roots of the test plants ranged from 0.003-0.103 g DW equivalent extract mL-1. These results suggest that all three mango cultivars have allelopathic properties and thus allelopathic substances. As no prominent differences in the inhibitory activity were found among the three mango cultivars, all of them might be useful candidates for isolation and identification of allelopathic substances which may lead the basis for new natural herbicides development. Asian Journal of Plant Sciences 12/2013; 12(6-8):252-261.
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ABSTRACT Ricinus communis and Jatropha curcas (Euphorbiaceae), two biodiesel plants are especially well known for many industrial, pharmacological, and/or toxicological properties, but to date very little is known about their allelopathic... more
ABSTRACT Ricinus communis and Jatropha curcas (Euphorbiaceae), two biodiesel plants are especially well known for many industrial, pharmacological, and/or toxicological properties, but to date very little is known about their allelopathic characteristics. Hence, to explore the allelopathy of both plants, the aqueous methanol extracts of their leaves were examined at five different concentrations (3-, 10-, 30-, 100-, and 300-mg dry weight [DW] equivalent extract/mL) on the seedling growth of cress, lettuce, alfalfa, Italian ryegrass, barnyard grass, and crabgrass, and on the germination of cress and barnyard grass. The bioassay experiments were conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications. The inhibitory activities of both extracts depends on the concentration and test plant species. Considering the I50 values, the seedling growth of lettuce was most sensitive to both extracts and barnyard grass was least sensitive. At concentration of 300-mg DW equivalent extract/mL, R. communis completely inhibited the germination of both cress and barnyard grass, and the seedling growth of cress, lettuce, Italian ryegrass, and barnyard grass. At the same concentration, complete inhibition on the germination of cress and the seedling growth of lettuce and alfalfa was only observed by J. curcas extracts. These results suggest that both plants have allelopathic properties and may possess allelochemicals. Since R. communis extracts had greater activity than J. curcas against the major crop weeds, this plant could be the best candidate for isolation and identification of allelochemicals, which might promote the discovery of new natural herbicides for sustainable agriculture.© 2013 Taylor &amp;amp; Francis
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Jatropha carcus is an important plant for the commencement of energy plantation. Jatropha can be grown in marginal, degraded, waste lands in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. It is a partially domesticated plant hence... more
Jatropha carcus is an important plant for the commencement of energy plantation. Jatropha can be grown in marginal, degraded, waste lands in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. It is a partially domesticated plant hence development of high yielding cultivars and package of management practices needs prime importance. The most important use propagation is to produce high quality planting materials. Jatropha can propagate through seeds, cuttings and tissue culture. Due to poor seed germination, short viability and high heterozygosity seed propagation may not produce high quality planting materials. On the other hand propagation through vegetative means or micropropagation can be the most effective alternatives to produce quality seedlings with desirable traits for higher seed and oil yield. Vegetative propagation has inimitable significance to maintain homogeneity among the progeny and provide early production.