Allelopathic effects of litter extracts from fruit trees on Lolium perenne and Medicago sativa

Abstract

Abstract [Objective] The study aims to investigate the chemosensory effect of fading leaves of Ziziphus jujuba, Juglans regia, and Malus pumila in northern Shaanxi, and to provide theoretical guidance for the selection of suitable grass species under economic forests. [Methods] Outdoor potting forage Lolium perenne and Medicago sativa were set up with different concentrations of Z. jujuba, J. regia, and M . pumila withered leaf extracts (0.1, 0.05, 0.025, 0.012 5 g/mL) treatments to determine the growth and physiological indexes of the forage. [Results] (1) The dry mass of forage monocultures was significantly lower than the control in most of the three types of withered leaves treated with each concentration of leachate, and the decrease was smaller in the Z. jujuba leachate. (2) Forage malondialdehyde content was higher than the control under all three types of leachate treatments, while the increase in Z. jujuba leachate was smaller, and the changes in its chlorophyll content, ascorbic acid content and antioxidant enzyme activity differed significantly among the three types of leachates, and the variability of L. perenne was significantly greater than that of M . sativa. (3) There were significant differences in the effects of the three types of extracts on the root traits of the forages, all of which inhibited their root length growth, significantly inhibited the number of L. perenne root tips, and promoted the number of M . sativa root tips. [Conclusion] Three kinds of fruit tree leaf extract showed significant inhibition on the growth of two kinds of forage grasses, and the inhibitory effect of Z. jujuba extract was the smallest, and the growth of L. perenne was less inhibited than that of M . sativa.

Keywords

• fruit trees
• leaf litter
• lolium perenne
• medicago sativa
• allelopathy
• biomass
• root traits
• biochemical indexes