Allelopathic potential of Petiveria alliacea L.

Overview & Synopsis

Petiveria alliacea (Phytolaccacea) is a herbaceous plant of great importance in traditional medicine. It has been reported to be effective as an insecticide and acaricide; however, its allelopathic activity is unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate its allelopathic activity in seeds of Triticum aestivum, Oriza sativa, Lactuca sativa and Amaranthus hypochondriacus. Tests were performed with different concentrations of the aqueous, methanolic and dichloromethanic leaf extracts. Total germination (Gt), accumulated germination velocity (AGV), length of the aerial portion (LAP) and radicular length (RL) were evaluated. It is demonstrated that the the organic extracts were more phytotoxic than the aqueous extract, producing a significant effect on lettuce and amaranth. However, in the evaluation carried out in the soil, no phytotoxic effect was observed in the germination of lettuce seeds. Therefore, the tested extracts of Petiveria alliacea were moderately phytotoxic.