Inductive Effect of Exogenous Abscisic Acid on the Weed-Suppressive Activity of Allelopathic and Non-Allelopathic Rice Accessions at the Root Level

Rice allelopathy is a natural method of weed control that is regarded as an eco-friendly practice in agroecology. The root growth of allelopathic rice at the seedling stage plays an important role in its weed control. Our study characterizes a plant hormone that promotes root growth, abscisic acid (ABA), to explore its role in the induction of rice allelopathy. Increasing the root morphology traits (root length, root tip number, and root biomass) in rice using different concentrations of exogenous ABA resulted in increased inhibitory ratios against barnyard grass (<i>Echinochloa crus-galli</i>), both in a hydroponic experiment and pot test. In particular, the relative proportion of induced allelopathy to total allelopathy in non-allelopathic rice Lemont (Le) was higher than that in allelopathic rice PI31277 (PI). The total content of phenolic acid, which is an important allelochemical in rice, as previously reported, was significantly elevated in the root exudates of both PI and LE. The gene expression levels of <i>OsPAL</i>, <i>OsC4H</i>, and <i>OsCOL</i> related to phenolic acid synthesis were also up-regulated, with a higher regulatory fold in PI. ABA also increased the expression of <i>OsKSL4</i> and <i>CYP75B4</i> involved in the biosynthesis of momilactone B and tricin. Moreover, low concentrations of exogenous ABA mainly positively regulate the expression of <i>OsIAA11</i>, an AUX/IAA transcription factor gene, in the root of PI and Le. These findings suggest that the application of ABA could significantly enhance the weed-suppressive activity of both rice cultivars through regulating root growth and the synthesis of allelochemicals secreted by rice roots, providing an option for the improvement of rice allelopathy through chemical induction.