Unraveling Sorghum Allelopathy in Agriculture: Concepts and Implications

Abstract

Allelopathy is an ecological phenomenon that involves the production and release of biomolecules from different crops, cultivated plants, and bacteria or fungi into the soil rhizosphere and impacts other organisms in the vicinity. Sorghum possesses vital allelopathic characteristics due to which it produces and releases different biomolecules from its root hairs, stems, and grains. Several studies have reported that sorghum acts as an allelopathic crop, decreasing the growth and eco-physiological attributes of surrounding plants and weeds growing simultaneously or subsequently in the field. Sorghum allelopathy has been exploited in the context of green manure, crop rotations, cover crops, and intercropping or mulching, whereas plant aqueous extracts or powder might be an alternate method of weed control. A diverse group of allelochemicals, including benzoic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, ferulic acid, chlorogenic acid, m-coumaric acid, p-coumaric acid, gallic acid, caffeic acid, p-hydroxibenzaldehyde, dhurrin, sorgoleone, m-hydroxybenzoic acid and protocatechuic acid, have been isolated and identified from different plant tissues of sorghum and root exudates. These allelochemicals, especially sorgoleone, have been investigated in terms of their mode(s) of action, specific activity and selectivity, release in the rhizosphere and uptake and translocation in sensitive species. The present review describes the importance of sorghum allelopathy as an ecological tool in managing weeds, highlighting the most recent advances in the allelochemicals present in sorghum, their modes of action, and their fate in the ecosystem. Further research should focus on the evaluation and selection of sorghum cultivars with high allelopathic potential, so that sorghum allelopathy can be better utilized for weed control and yield enhancement.

Allelopathic Impact of Cover Crop Species on Soybean and Goosegrass Seedling Germination and Early Growth

“…An additional factor which could have also affected the concentrations of allelochemicals in the cover crops is any abiotic stress that was present during the period when cover crops were growing. According to Hussain et al [18], the concentration of allelochemicals in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.), a highly allelopathic species, can be affected by nutrient, temperature, and water stress, as well as herbicide applications.…”

The Impact of Different Weed Management Systems on Weed Flora and Dry Biomass Production of Barley Grown under Various Barley-Based Cropping Systems

“…The crops with high allelopathic potential include sunflower, rye, wheat, rice, barley, and sorghum, which have been shown to suppress weed flora in different crops [ 29 , 30 , 31 ]. The allelopathic compounds found in mulberry (tannins steroids and phenols), sunflower (phenolic compounds and terpenes), and sorghum (sorgoleone and phenolics) are responsible for suppression of weed flora [ 13 , 29 , 32 , 33 , 34 ].…”

“…Selection of similar crops for longer time periods results in the proliferation and establishment of particular weed species, which become established and are difficult to control [ 37 ]. The inclusion of allelopathic crops, i.e., sorghum in rotation could provide significant control over weeds compared to a rotation having no allelopathic crop [ 34 ]. Sorghum releases various allelopathic compounds from its grains, stems, and root hairs; thus, considered as an important candidate for crop rotation to suppress weed flora [ 30 , 34 ].…”

“…The inclusion of allelopathic crops, i.e., sorghum in rotation could provide significant control over weeds compared to a rotation having no allelopathic crop [ 34 ]. Sorghum releases various allelopathic compounds from its grains, stems, and root hairs; thus, considered as an important candidate for crop rotation to suppress weed flora [ 30 , 34 ]. Several studies explored the allelopathic potential of sorghum as cover crop, mulch, and aqueous extracts on different weeds and concentration-dependent, selective, and species-specific allelopathic effects have been reported [ 7 , 8 , 20 , 38 , 39 ].…”

The Evaluation of Secondary Metabolites in accharum officinarum L. and Mimosa invisa Mart. as Natural Herbicides

“…It is used by weeds to compete with other plants growing around them (Aliyu et al, 2018;Ejaz, 2003;Erida et al 2019). Subsequently, the results obtained will reveal that M. invisa weed extract can inhibit the germination of seeds of other plants growing in its vicinity, giving it the potential of a bioherbicide (Albuquerque et al, 2011;Ejaz, 2003;Hussain et al, 2021;Permatasari et al, 2020;Sadiqullah et al, 2019). Therefore, this research aims to determine the metabolite compounds in the giant sensitive plant (M. invisa) weed rhizosphere and sugarcane plant (S. officinarum) together with their roles as allelochemicals.…”