Allelopathy of rice (Oryza sativa L.) root exudates and its relations with Orobanche cumana Wallr. and Orobanche minor Sm. germination

Allelopathy has been considered not only as an environmentally friendly approach for weed control but also a potential reason causing autotoxicity in crop production. In this study, the responses of seeds of lettuce, wheat, rice, clover broomrape (CB), and sunflower broomrape (SB) to the root exudates of rice cultivars were studied. Lettuce germination was promoted by root exudates of Yliangyou 3218 and I-Kung-Pao. Wheat seedling growth was inhibited by all nine rice species. I-Kung-Pao and Ganxin 203 exerted greater autotoxicity than other cultivars. Yongyou 15 and I-Kung-Pao induced the highest germination rate of CB, while Yongyou 13, Zhongzao 22, and I-Kung-Pao induced the highest germination rate of SB. A significantly correlation was noted between germination-inducing ability on broomrape seeds and allelopathic effects on target plants. It is suggested that using broomrape seeds germination is a better receptor for the identification of rice allelopathic potential.