Germination

The study embodies the results of investigations on allelopathic effects of Corchorus tridens L. on Pearl millet. For this purpose, soil samples and plant material were collected from crop fields near Dayanand College, Ramganj, Ajmer. Topographically, Ajmer is characterized by Aravali ranges of varying heights, rocky terrains, valleys, ponds and lakes on one hand, and sandy plains and stabilized dunes on the other. The analyses of physical and mineral properties of weed stand soil and soil of adjacent area revealed that soil moisture percentage was higher in samples collected from depth, whereas soil conductivity and N, P, K content were found to be higher in surface soil samples. The value of pH indicates slightly alkaline nature of the soil. The data obtained from weed stand soil and adjacent area soil also revealed that there were non-significant differences in both physical and mineral properties of the soil due to the presence of C.tridens L. The extracts from C.tridens L. stand soil samples were found to be more inhibiting than adjacent area soil samples which implied that some allelopathic chemical leached out from the roots of C. tridens L. into the soil. The aqueous leachates of C. tridens L. leaves showed maximum inhibition followed by roots and stem. The inhibitory effect of leachates increased with increase in their concentration. The methanolic extracts of different plant parts of C. tridens L. showed complete inhibition of germination of Pearl millet in comparison to petroleum ether and chloroform extracts. The leaf extract was found to be more inhibiting than root and stem extracts.