COMPARATIVE PHYTOTOXICITY OF CINEOLE AND CITRONELLOL AGAINST TWO WEED SPECIES

摘要

Weeds - the unwanted plants, compete with agricultural crops for nutrition, water and space, thus causing enormous crop losses. Though a wide variety of synthetic herbicides are used for weed control, yet they have created more problems than solving as these synthetic chemicals are costly and remain in soil as persistent pollutants. Therefore, in order to achieve sustainable weed management alternative and eco-friendly means are being tried world over. Natural plant products being biodegradable, more target oriented and cost effective are being explored for the management of noxious weeds. In this context, a study was performed to explore the herbicidal potential of purified volatile monoterpenes viz. cineole and citronellol. These exerted a deleterious effect on the germination, growth, chlorophyll content and respiratory activity of two noxious agricultural weeds viz. Avena fatua and Ageratum conyzoides which have invaded the agricultural fields in the northwestern parts of India. Nearly 4 weeks after treatment the plants get wilted. Cineole was more effective than citronellol. Volatile terpenes, thus, have a potential to suppress the weeds and could be exploited as novel agrochemicals for future weed management programmes.