Allelopathic Effect of Artemisia herba-alba Asso. Essential Oil on Seed Germination of Agropyron desertorum and Agropyron cristatum

Authors

1 Department of Rangeland Management, Faculty of Natural Resources, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

2 Phytochemistry Group, Department of Medicinal plants & By-products, Research Institute of Forest and Rangelands, P.O.Box 1318, Tehran, Iran

3 Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate allelopathic effect of the essential oil of Artemisia herba-alba Asso., on seed germination characteristics of  Agropyron desertorum and Agropyron cristatum in a laboratory experiment. Essential oil was extracted from the aerial parts of Artemisia herba-alba using a Clevenger-Type apparatus. The volatile chemical compositions of Artemesia herba-alba were determined with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The crude essential oil was diluted with ethanol to a final concentration of 100 ppm, 500 ppm, 1000 ppm, 1500 ppm and 2000 ppm. Seed germination test was carried out on filter paper moistened with 5 ml of different dilutions of essential oil or distilled water as control. The results showed that increase in essential oil concentration reduced root lengths, seed germination percentage and vigor index of Agropyron desertorumand Agropyron cristatum.  

Keywords


1. Dob T, Benabdelkader T. Chemical Composition of the Essential Oil of Artemisia herba-alba Asso. Grown in Algeria. J Essent Oil Res. 2006:18;685-690.
2. Jeffersona LV,  Pennacchio M. Allelopathic effects of foliage extracts from four chenopodiaceae species on seed germination. J Arid Environ. 2003;55:275-283.
3. Turk MA, Tawaha AM. Inhibitory effects of aqueous extracts of black mustard on germination and growth of lentil. Agronomy. 2002;1:28-30.
4. Javaid A, Shafique S, Bajwa R. Effect of aqueous extracts of allelopathic crops on germination and growth of Parthenium hysterophorus L., South Afr J Bot. 2006;72:609-612.
5. Behtari B, Dianati Tilaki GhA, Gholami F, Bahari Balkhkanlou R. Comparison of the essential oil constituents of Artemisia herba-albaAsso.  In the vegetative and flowering stages., Agric Sci Digest. 2011;31:100-105. 
6. Hardegree SP, Van Vactor SS. Germination and emergence of primed grass seeds under field and simulated-field temperature regimes. Annal Bot. 2000;85:379-390.
7. Panwar P, Bhardwaj SD. Hand Book of Practical Forestry, Agrobios, India. 2005:21-28.
8. Abdul-Baki AA, Anderson JD. Vigor determination in soybean seed by multiple criteria. J Crop Sci. 1973;13:630-633.    
9. Black M. Seed research-past, present and future. In: Taylorson, R.B. (Ed.), Recent Advances in the Development and Germination of Seeds. Plenum, New York, 1989:1-6.
10. Rietgens IM, Alink GM. Nutrition and health toxic substances in food. Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2003;147:2365-2370.
11. Javaid A, Anjum T. Control of Parthenium hysterophorus L., by aqueous extracts of allelopathic grasses. Pakistan Journal of Botany. 2006;38:139-145.
12. Bakkali F, Averbeck S, Averbeck D, Idaomar M. Biological effects of essential oils-A review. Food Chem Toxic. 2008;46:446-475.
13. Gustafson JE, Liew YC, Chew S, Markham JL, Bell HC, Wyllie SG, Warmington JR. Effects of tea tree oil on Escherichia coli. Letters in Applied Microbiology. 1998;26:194-198.
14. Burt S. Essential oils: their antibacterial properties and potential applications in foods – a review Inter J Food Microbiol. 2004;94:223-253.
15. Scrivanti LR, Zunino MP, Zygadlo JA. Tagetes minuta L. and Schinus areira L. essential oils as allelopathic agents. Biochem Sys Ecol. 2003;31:563-572.
16. Dhindsa RS, Plumb-Dhindsa P, Thorpe TA. Leaf senescense: correlated with increased levels of membrane permeability and lipid peroxidation and decreased levels of superoxide dismutase and catalase. Experimental Botany. 1981;32:93-101.
17. Oussalah M, Caillet S, Lacroix M. Mechanism of action of Spanish oregano, Chinese cinnamon, and savory essential oils against cell membranes and walls of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes. Food Protection. 2006;69:1046-1055.
18. Rice EL. Allelopathy, 2nd ed. Academic Press, Orlando. 1984:420- 422.
10. Rietgens IM, Alink GM. Nutrition and health toxic substances in food. Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2003;147:2365-2370.
19. Ten RX, Zheng WF, Tang HQ. Biologically active substances from the genus Artemisia. Plant Med. 1998;64:295-302.
20. Gholami F, Dianati Tilaki GhA, Behtari B. Study of allelopathic effect of Artemisia herba alba Asso. on seed germination and seedling growth of Onobrychis sativa L. and Medicago sativa L.Iranian J Rangelands and Forests Plant Breeding and Genetic Res. 2011;19:181-191.
21. Chanphen R, Thebtaranonth Y, Wanuppathamkul S, Yuthavong Y. Antimalarial principles from Artemisia indica. Natural Products. 1998;61:1146-1147.
22. Ahmed AA, El-Moghazy SA, El-Shanawany MA, Abdel-Ghani HF, Karchesy J, Sturtz G, Dalley K, Pare PW. Polyol Monoterpenes and Sesquiterpene Lactones from the Pacific North west Plant Artemisisa suksdorfii. Natural prod. 2004;67:1705-1710.