The chapters of this book describe the physiological, population and community ecology of weeds within agroecosystems, with the goal of recognizing details of relevant approaches for better weed management
This book provides the reader relevant information about actual knowledge about the process of allelopathy, covering all aspects from the molecular to the ecological level. Special relevance is given to the physiological and ecophysiological aspects of allelopathy. Several ecosystems are studied and methodological considerations are taken into account in several different chapters. The book has been written to be useful both for Ph.D. students and for senior researchers, so the chapters include all necessary information to be read by beginners, but they also include a lot of useful information and discussion for the initiated.
Allelopathic studies may be defined in various aspects; weed against weed/crop and vice versa. This book focuses on the ways to utilize the allelopathic potential of weeds or crops for controlling weeds in the agroecosystems. Vigorous use of herbicides is poisoning our environment at an alarming rate; allelopathy can be employed as a useful alternative to control weeds naturally under field conditions. The book contains chapters on the history of allelopathy; allelopathic potential of several important crops (rice, wheat, sorghum, maize, mustard, sunflower) and weeds (members of Solanaceae, Convolvulaceae, Asteraceae, Verbenaceae). Moreover, it highlights how the allelopathic potential of these weeds and crops can be employed effectively to suppress weeds under field conditions. The book also discusses topics on the role of allelochemicals in agroecosystems; impact on local flora; biotic stress induced by allelochemicals; mechanism of action of allelochemicals and future prospective of allelopathy. Prepared with basic concepts and importance of allelopathy, this book is intended for the agricultural community, botanists, students and researchers.
Biological control of plant diseases and plant pathogens is of great significance in forestry and agriculture. This book, the first of its kind, is organized around the indication that allelochemicals can be employed for biological control of plant pathogens and plant diseases. This volume focuses on discovery and development of natural product based fungicides for agriculture, direct use of allelochemicals, and application of allelopathy in pest management.
With a claim to be the first work to document in detail the history of allelopathy, Willis’s text provides an account of the concept of allelopathy as it has occurred through the course of botanical literature from the earliest recorded writings to the modern era. A great deal of information is presented here in a consolidated and accessible form for the first time. The book offers a unique insight into the historical factors which have influenced the popularity of allelopathy.
Allelopathy is an ecological phenomenon by which plants release organic chemicals (allelochemicals) into the environment influencing the growth and survival of other organisms. In this book, leading scientists in the field synthesize latest developments in allelopathy research with a special emphasis on its application in sustainable agriculture. The following topics are highlighted: Ecological implications, such as the role of allelopathy during the invasion of alien plant species; regional experiences with the application of allelopathy in agricultural systems and pest management; the use of microscopy for modeling allelopathy; allelopathy and abiotic stress tolerance; host allelopathy and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; allelopathic interaction with plant nutrition; and the molecular mechanisms of allelopathy. This book is an invaluable source of information for scientists, teachers and advanced students in the fields of plant physiology, agriculture, ecology, environmental sciences, and molecular biology.
Allelopathy in rice; Allelopathic activity in rice for controlling major aquatic weeds; Weed management using allelopathic rice varieties in Egypt; Rice allelopathy research in Korea; Using and improving laboratory bioassays in rice allelopathy research; Incorporating the allelopathy trait in upland rice breeding programs; What are allelochemicals?; Searching for allelochemicals in rice that control ducksalad; Adaptive autointoxication mechanisms in rice; Allelopathic strategies for weed management in the rice-wheat rotation in northwestern India; Allelopathic effect of Lantana camara on rice and associated weeds under the midhill conditions of Himachal Pradesh, India; Potential of allelopathy for weed management in wet-seede rice cultivation in Sri Lanka; Allelopathic effects of gooseweed extracts on growth of weed seedlings.
Science is essentially a descriptive and experimental device. It observes nature, constructs hypotheses, plans experiments and proposes theories. The theory is never contemplated as the 'final truth', but remains ever subject to modifications, changes and rejections. The science of allelopathy in a similar way has emerged, and exists on a similar footing; our endeavour should be to keep it fresh and innovative with addition of newer in formation and concepts with the rejection of older ideas and antiquated techniques. During the past few decades encouraging results have been obtained in various aspects of allelopathic researches. However, in addition to continuing efforts in all these directions, constant attempts are to be made to describe the mechanics of allelopathic activity in molecular terms and to discover ways and means to exploit it for the welfare of mankind. We feel that multidisciplinary efforts are the only tool to achieve this goal. It is the hope of the editors that this book will serve as a document which identifies an integrated approach, through which research both to understand and exploit allelopathy can be conducted. The present volume arose out of an attempt to bring together eminent scientists in allelopathy to describe their work, of a highly diverse nature, under one title.
Allelopathy offers great potential: (a) to increase agriculture production (food grains, vegetables, fruits, forestry), (b) to decrease harmful effects of modern agricultural practices (multiple cropping, leaching losses from N – fertilizers, indiscriminate use of pesticides viz. weedicides, fungicides, insecticides and nematicides and development of pesticides tolerant /resistant biotypes in pests) on soil health/productivity and on environment and (c) to maintain soil productivity and pollution free environment for our future generations. It is hoped that in the near future the allelopathy may be used in crop production, crop protection, agroforestry and agro-horticultural systems of developed countries. Therefore, it may be one of the strategies to increase agricultural production in Sustainable Agriculture of 21st century. This book is based on the research findings and addresses to various intricate problems of crop production, to which there was no definite answer in the past but now have been attributed to allelopathy.
Allelopathy is a multi-disciplinary subject involving organic chemistry, plant physiology, botany, microbiology, soil science, plant ecophysiology and ecology, making the topic very challenging. This text focuses on the plant physiological aspects, but also covers other integrated aspects.