Allelochemicals play an important role in explaining plant growth inhibition in interspecies interactions and in structuring the plant community. Five aspects of allelochemicals are discussed from an ecophysiological perspective: (i) biosynthesis, (ii) mode of release, (iii) mode of action, (iv) detoxification and prevention of autotoxicity, and (v) joint action of allelochemicals. A discussion on identifying a compound as an allelochemical is also presented.

Ecophysiological aspects of allelopathy

Weeds are known to cause enormous losses due to their interference in agroecosystems. Because of environmental and human health concerns, worldwide efforts are being made to reduce the heavy reliance on synthetic herbicides that are used to control weeds. In this regard the phenomenon of allelopathy, which is expressed through the release of chemicals by a plant, has been suggested to be one of the possible alternatives for achieving sustainable weed management. The use of allelopathy for controlling weeds could be either through directly utilizing natural allelopathic interactions, particularly of crop plants, or by using allelochemicals as natural herbicides. In the former case, a number of crop plants with allelopathic potential can be used as cover, smother, and green manure crops for managing weeds by making desired manipulations in the cultural practices and cropping patterns. These can be suitably rotated or intercropped with main crops to manage the target weeds (including parasitic ones) selectively. Even the crop mulch/residues can also give desirable benefits. Not only the terrestrial weeds, even allelopathy can be suitably manipulated for the management of aquatic weeds. The allelochemicals present in the higher plants as well as in the microbes can be directly used for weed management on the pattern of herbicides. Their bioefficacy can be enhanced by structural changes or the synthesis of chemical analogues based on them. Further, in order to enhance the potential of allelopathic crops, several improvements can be made with the use of biotechnology or genomics and proteomics. In this context either the production of allelochemicals can be enhanced or the transgenics with foreign genes encoding for a particular weed-suppressing allelochemical could be produced. In the former, both conventional breeding and molecular genetical techniques are useful. However, with conventional breeding being slow and difficult, more emphasis is laid on the use of modern techniques such as molecular markers and the selection aided by them. Although the progress in this regard is slow, nevertheless some promising results are coming and more are expected in future. This review attempts to discuss all these aspects of allelopathy for the sustainable management of weeds.

Allelopathic Interactions and Allelochemicals: New Possibilities for Sustainable Weed Management

Allelopathy studies the interactions among plants, fungi, algae and bacteria with the organisms living in a certain ecosystem, interactions that are mediated by the secondary metabolites produced and exuded into the environment. Consequently, allelopathy is a multidisciplinary science where ecologists, chemists, soil scientists, agronomists, biologists, plant physiologists and molecular biologists offer their skills to give an overall view of the complex interactions occurring in a certain ecosystem. As a result of these studies, applications in weed and pest management are expected in such different fields as development of new agrochemicals, cultural methods, developing of allelopathic crops with increased weed resistance, etc. The present paper will focus on the chemical aspects of allelopathy, pointing out the most recent advances in the chemicals disclosed, their mode of action and their fate in the ecosystem. Also, attention will be paid to achievements in genomics and proteomics, two emerging fields in allelopathy. Rather than being exhaustive, this paper is intended to reflect a critical vision of the current state of allelopathy and to point to future lines of research where in the authors' opinion the main advances and applications could and should be expected.

Allelopathy--a natural alternative for weed control.

Allelopathy can be defined as an important mechanism of plant interference mediated by the addition of plant-produced secondary products to the soil rhizosphere. Allelochemicals are present in all types of plants and tissues and are released into the soil rhizosphere by a variety of mechanisms, including decomposition of residues, volatilization, and root exudation. Allelochemical structures and modes of action are diverse and may offer potential for the development of future herbicides. We have focused our review on a variety of weed and crop species that establish some form of potent allelopathic interference, either with other crops or weeds, in agricultural settings, in the managed landscape, or in naturalized settings. Recent research suggests that allelopathic properties can render one species more invasive to native species and thus potentially detrimental to both agricultural and naturalized settings. In contrast, allelopathic crops offer strong potential for the development of cultivars that are ...

Weed and Crop Allelopathy

https://febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1016/j.febslet.2006.01.065

Artemisia annua L. (Asteraceae) trichome-specific cDNAs reveal CYP71AV1, a cytochrome P450 with a key role in the biosynthesis of the antimalarial sesquiterpene lactone artemisinin.

The tissue localization of the antimalarial sesquiterpenoid compound artemisinin in annual wormwood (Artemisia annua L.) was determined by differential extraction of a glanded biotype and through the use of a glandless biotype. A 5-s dip in chloroform extracted 97% of the artemisinin from glanded A. annua leaf tissue. In addition, all of the detectable artemisitene, an artemisinin analog, was extracted. This extraction method caused collapse of the subcuticular space of the capitate glands on the leaf surface, whereas no other damage to the leaf surface was observed with SEM. Light microscopy and TEM revealed that this extraction method, despite causing some organelle structural changes, did not disrupt cell membranes. An A. annua biotype without glands contained neither artemisinin nor artemisitene. These results indicate that artemisinin and artemisitene present in foliar tissue are localized entirely in the subcuticular space of capitate glands of A. annua.

George Sturtz

Papers

Localization of artemisinin and artemisitene in foliar tissues of glanded and glandless biotypes of artemisia annua l.