Gopal Debnath et al. Int. Res. J. Pharm. 2017, 8 (1)

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INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNAL OF PHARMACY

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ISSN 2230 – 8407

Research Article

ALLELOPATHIC EFFECT OF CLERODENDRUM INFORTUNATUM L. LEAF EXTRACT ON SEED

GERMINATION AND SEEDLING GROWTH OF SOME AGRICULTURAL CROPS OF TRIPURA, INDIA

Gopal Debnath 1*, Panna Das 2 and Ajay Krishna Saha 1

1Mycology and Plant Pathology Laboratory, Department of Botany, Tripura University, Suryamaninagar, Tripura, India 2Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Botany, Tripura University, Suryamaninagar, Tripura, India *Corresponding Author Email: gopaldn88@gmail.com

Article Received on: 11/12/16 Revised on: 29/12/16 Approved for publication: 10/01/17

DOI: 10.7897/2230-8407.08019

ABSTRACT

This study was aimed to evaluate the allelopathic effect of the aqueous leaf extract of Clerodendrum infortunatum L. on seed germination, plumule

and radicle growth of some agricultural crops such as Triticum aestivum L. (Wheat), Brassica campestris (Mustard), Vigna radiata (L) R.wilczek

(Mung bean) and Trigonella foenum-graecum L. (Methi). The ground leaves of C. infortunatum were mixed with distilled water in 1:10 ratio and used

as stock solution. The inhibitory effect was studied at 25%, 50% and 75% of aqueous solution and distilled water (control). It was found that the

aqueous leaf extract C. infortunatum had inhibitory effect on germination, plumule and radical elongation of tested crops. The results revealed that the

inhibitory effect was much more pronounced at higher extract concentrations showing allelopathic potential which may be exploited in controlling

seed germination and seedling growth of crops.

Keywords: Allelopathy, agricultural crops, Clerodendrum infortunatum, seed germination, plumule, radicle.

INTRODUCTION

Chemical exudates from some plants to the environment have been reported as causative agents of allelopathy on growth of neighboring plants and thus affecting normal growth in their natural environment1-4. Allelochemicals are present in leaves,

stems, roots, flowers, seeds, bark, and buds of almost all plants5. Allelopathic plant interactions can have either a harmful or beneficial effect and are generally evaluated by testing some physiological mechanisms that result in the inhibition and stimulation of seed germination, plant growth and development due to the presence of another plant6,5. The action of allelochemicals on plants is diverse and it involves a large number of biochemical reactions resulting into their

modifications and finally affects the overall growth of both target plants and others in the vicinity3,7. The locally available medicinal plant clerodendrum infortunatum of Verbenaceae is also recorded from various parts of India and the adjoining countries like Bangladesh, Srilanka and Malaysia. Traditional healers use this plant for remedy of aphrodisiac, antipyretic and antihelmentic. The plant is also useful for subsiding thrust and burning sensation8.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the Allelopathic effect of aqueous extracts of clerodendrum infortunatum on seed germination and seedling growth of some crop plants: Triticum aestivum L. (Wheat), Brassica campestris (Mustard), Vigna radiata (L) R.wilczek (Mung bean), Trigonella foenum-graecum L. (Methi)

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Collection of Materials

Mature leaf sample of Clerodendrum infortunatum were collected from Tripura University campus, Suryamaninagar and preserved in paper bags in the laboratory for further use. Seeds

of Triticum aestivum L. (Wheat), Brassica campestris (Mustard), Vigna radiata (L) R.wilczek (Mung bean), Trigonella foenum-graecum L. (Methi) were collected from Maharajgunj Bazar, Agartala, West Tripura. Seeds were surface-sterilized with 0.1 percent mercuric chloride solution for two minutes and then washed twice with distilled water before the setting of experiment for germination tests.

Preparation of Aqueous Extracts of Leaf

Leaves were washed to remove soil particles, cut into pieces and air dried. The dried leaves were ground in a grinder and after sieving, stored in air tight glass bottles. Aqueous extracts of leaf were prepared by adding 10 gm of powdered leaves in 100 ml of distilled water kept for 24 hours at room temperature. It was filtered through Whatman filter paper no.1 and the volume of the filtrate made to 100ml9. The filtrates were considered as the

stock solution. From stock solution, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% solutions were then made.

Seed Germination and Seedling Growth Twenty seeds were spread on sterile filter paper in each petridish. Seeds were set in a completely randomized design with three replications (3 similar petridishes) at room

temperature. Five mililitre aqueous extract of each concentration (25%, 50%, 75% and 100%) was added to each petridish (9 cm diameter) separately twice a day. The controls were treated similarly with distilled water. The experiment was conducted

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over a period of 7 days for seed germination. The germination was recorded on daily basis. Data were recorded on counting the number of germinated seeds and length of plumule and radicle.

Germination percentage = Number of seed germinated / Total number of seed sown x100

Statistical Analysis The average data recorded for each replica were subjected to the one way ANOVA technique using Origin 7 and the significance

was tested by using Tukey Least Significant Differences (LSD).

Table 1. The effect on final germination percentages (%) of some crops seeds of aqueous extracts in different concentrations prepared from

leaves of Clerodendrum infortunatum after one week interval

Concentration of leaf

extract (Treatment)

Vigna radiata Trigonella foenum-

graceum

Triticum aestivum Brasica campestris

0%(control) 100.00±0.00a 100.00±0.00a 100.00±0.00a 100.00±0.00a

25% 66.67±3.33b 96.67±3.33a 33.33±1.67b 55.00±2.89b

50% 50.00±2.89c 88.33±4.41a 13.33±1.67c 0.00±0.00c

75% 13.33±1.67d 56.67±3.33b 0.00±0.00d 0.00±0.00c

100% 0.00±0.00e 43.33±3.33b 0.00±0.00d 0.00±0.00c

Means separated by Tukey LSD as different letters differs significantly at p<0.05.

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Graph 1: Effect of C. infortunatum leaf extract on plumule length (in

cm) of tested seeds after one week interval

Graph 2: Effect of C. infortunatum leaf extract on radicle length (in

cm) of tested seeds after one week interval

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In the present study effects of aqueous extracts of Clerodendrum

infortunatum leaf at different concentrations (25%, 50%, 75% and 100%) on seed germination, and seedling growth of Trigonella foenum-graecum (Figure 1), Triticum aestivum (Figure 2), Vigna radiata (3) and Brassica campestris (4) were studied.

Effect of Leaf Extracts on Germination Percentage

The effects of aqueous extracts of Clerodendrum infortunatum on seed germination of the four agricultural crops are shown in Table 1. The study revealed that the leaf extracts significantly (p<0.05) inhibited the germination of tested seeds in comparing with respective control and the severity of effect was proportional to the extract concentrations. In comparison with control (0% treatment) the highest inhibitory effect was recorded in case of Vigna radiata crops at 100% concentration.

However, in Trigonella foenum-graceum crops maximum inhibitory effect on germination was at 100% concentration and in case of Triticum aestivum and Brasica campestris crops highest inhibitory effect started from 75% and 50% concentration respectively. The inhibition effect on germination of all the tested seeds was found to increase with increasing concentrations of aqueous extracts of leaf.

Effect of Leaf Extracts on Seedling Growth Plumule and radical growth of the tested crops grown under various concentrations of aqueous extracts of leaf Clerodendrum infortunatum are presented in Graph 1 and 2. In comparison with control (0%), the leaf extracts at 25, 50, 75 and 100% concentration levels exhibited significant (P < 0.05) inhibition on seedling growth. The leaf extract showed potential allelopathic effects on the plumule and radicle length of all the

tested crops. After one week of interval, in control Vigna radiata crops showed the plumule length as 3.04 cm and radicle length as 3.48 cm, but the length of plumule and radicle reduced to 0 .7 cm and 0.29 cm respectively at 25% concentration. The gradual decrease in length of both plumule and radicle were noticed at higher concentration starting from 50 to 100% concentration. In case of Trigonella foenum-graceum at control the plumule length was 2.95 cm and radicle length was 2.36 cm,

but the length of plumule and radicle reduced to 0.97 cm and 0.53cm respectively at 25% concentration, both plumule and radical length gradually decreased starting from 50 to 100% concentration.

In control Triticum aestivum showed the plumule length as 5.05 cm and radicle length as 5.9 cm, but the length of plumule

reduced to 0.3 cm at 25% treatment and gradual decreased were noticed starting from 50 to100% concentration. No growth was noticed in length of radicle at 25% 50%, 75% and 100% concentrations. In control Brasica campestris showed the plumule length as 1.55 cm and radicle length as 2.71 cm, but the length of plumule and radicle reduced to 0. 4 cm and 0.2 cm respectively at 25% concentration. The length of both plumule and radicle were gradually decreased starting from 50 to 100%

concentration. There were significant differences between each treatment and control. The present study showed that the germination rate, plumule and radicle growth of all the tested agricultural crops were negatively affected by the allelopathic potential in all concentrations of the aqueous leaf extract of C. infortunatum. Per Rice10 and Kohli et al.11 allelopathy is one of the important

mechanisms in agro-ecosystems which affect crop performance. Seed germination is a complex process underlying a set of several biochemical, physiological and morphological changes occur in well-defined sequence during seed germination12. The presence of excess or deficient amount of a chemical substance may interrupt any biochemical reaction by which the whole process fails to complete. For allelopathic studies, aqueous extracts of varied concentrations of various plant parts are

directly applied to the germinated seeds to reveal the effect on seedling growth of test plant in vitro13. Gradual decrease in germination percentage were found due to allelopathic effect of aqueous leaf extracts of Clerodendrum infortunatum from lower to higher concentrations as compared to control. Similar findings have been reported in weed Tridax procumbens L.14. Seed germination, plumule and radicle length were decreased over control with the increasing concentration of aqueous leaf extracts. Similar observation was found by Ballester et al15,

Carvalho et al16, Gupta et al17 and Elisante et al3. All these studies revealed that the release of phytotoxic chemicals present in the preparation of aqueous extracts showed allelopathic effect on other plants.

CONCLUSION

The effect of various concentrations of aqueous leaf extract of

Clerodendrum infortunatum at higher concentrations has more pronounced inhibitory effect on germination and seedling growth of agricultural crops compared with lower concentrations. The allelopathic potentiality of aqueous extract

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of C. infortunatum pointed out that its presence in any concentrations present in soil could decrease seed germination and seedling growth of agricultural crops and may be exploited in controlling seed germination and seedling growth of target

plants.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors are grateful to the Head, Department of Botany, Tripura University for providing all sorts of facilities. The first author is thankful to the UGC- BSR, Government of India for the financial assistance.

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Cite this article as: Gopal Debnath, Panna Das and Ajay Krishna Saha. Allelopathic effect of Clerodendrum infortunatum L. leaf extract on seed germination and seedling growth of some agricultural crops of Tripura, India. Int. Res. J. Pharm. 2017;8(1):46-49 http://dx.doi.org/10.7897/2230-8407.08019

Source of support: UGC- BSR, Government of India, Conflict of interest: None Declared

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