Allelopathic Effect of Aqueous Extract of Foxtail Millet Straw on Seed Germination and Seedling Growth of Five Crops
From the perspective of allelopathy,the crops suitable for intercropping with foxtail millet[Setaria italica(L.)Beauv.]were screened to provide references for establishing reasonable intercropping sys-temsfor foxtail millet.The root,stem and leaf extracts of foxtail millet were prepared by water extraction meth-od.Four concentration gradients(5,20,40 and 100 mg·mL-1)were set for each extract with distilled water as the control(CK).The effects of the extracts from the three parts of foxtail millet plants on seed germination and seedling growth of mungbean[Vigna radiate(L.)Wilczek],red bean[Vigna angularis(Willd.)Ohwi et Ohashi],corn(Zea mays L.),wheat(Triticum aestivum L.)and foxtail millet were studied.The results showed that the extracts of foxtail millet roots,stems and leaves had inhibitory effects on germination rate and seedling growth of the recipient crops.The inhibitory effect of leaf extract was the strongest,while that of root extract was the weakest.With the increase of concentration,the inhibition of the extracts on seed germination rate,and seedling fresh weight,root length and bud length of the recipient crops was aggravated.Among the five species of crops,the inhibitory effect of foxtail millet extracts on seed germination was sequenced as mung bean<red bean<wheat<foxtail millet<corn.In general,mung bean was more suitable for intercropping,relay intercropping and rotation with foxtail millet.