Allelopathic activity of extracts o fLafoensia pacari A. ST.-HIL. on Lactuca sativa L. and Zea mays L. under laboratory conditions

Abstract

The research aimed to evaluate the potential allelopathic activity of the crude ethanolic extract of vegetative organs of Lafoensia pacarit hrough bioassays of germination and early growth of Lactuca sativa L. and Zea mays L. under laboratory conditions. Thus, the crude ethanol extract of leaves and stem were tested at concentrations of 0, 250, 500 and 1000 mg/L. The experimental design was completely randomized with four replicates of 50 or 25 seeds for bioassays germination of lettuce and corn, respectively, and 10 seedlings for growth bioassays. Ethanol extracts did not affect the germination and germination speed index of the target species. The extract of the stem inhibited radicle growth of seedlings of lettuce and corn at high concentration (1000mg/L). The leaf extract did not cause effect on radicle growth of lettuce, but promoted inhibition of primary root of maize in its highest concentration. Under the conditions tested in this work the ethanol extracts of the stem and leaves of L. pacari demonstrated allelopathy.