Agricultural and Biological Research

Exploring the herbicidal potential of some weed species by using two distinct extraction methods

Ahsan Aziz*, Muhammad Asif, Akash Munawar, Muhammad Zeeshan Majeed, Muhammad Ather Nadeem, Naeem Akhtar, Muhammad Ashraf, Muhammad Mansoor Javaid, Muhammad Adnan, Muhammad Ali Bhatti and Bilal Ahmad Khan

Weed management is extremely important for sustainable crop production in all cropping systems. The use of weedicides is one of the best approaches to keep the weeds under check but the repeated use of few selective herbicides is giving rise to problem of herbicide resistant weeds and environmental pollution. Therefore, it is imperative to identify plant species having herbicidal potential so that their bio-extracts may be used as more safe and effective novel weed management means. The present study was conducted to explore the plant growth inhibitory activity of aqueous and N-hexane extracts of Adiantum capillus-veneris, Parthenium hysterophorus and Sisymbrium orientale. A completely randomized design with factorial arrangements was used for the experiment with four replications. Aqueous and N-hexane extract of Sisymbrium orientale completely inhibited lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) seed germination while maximum mean germination time, time taken to 50% germination, lowest germination index and seedling dry weight was observed when N-hexane extract of Parthenium hysterophorus was applied. Generally, N-hexane extracts showed more phytotoxicity than aqueous extracts. This study demonstrates that S. orientale extract have comparatively more active substances with ability to suppress germination and growth of plants which could be exploited as prospective source of bio-herbicides.