Allelopathic effect of Eucalyptus species on legume vegetables
1995
Malik, F.B. | Shah, B.S.
Pakistan is deficient in forest resources with only 5.2% area under forests, against requirement of 20-25% for a balanced economy. Consequently we are confronted with variety of problems, including tangible (shortage of timber and firewood) and in-tangible (like poor climate, degrading environment, vanishing wildlife and biodiversity and devastation by floods) ones. A population of over 126 million growing at an alarming rate of 3.1% does not permit to divert area from food crops to arboriculture and necessitates agroforestry (optional growing of trees and crops on the same land unit in temporal or/and spatial arrangement) as a feasible option. This study is continuation of work on allelopathic effect of Eucalyptus camaldulensis on two major varieties of wheat by the author for dissertation of M.Sc. Botany during 1991. The object of the study is to establish viable tree-crop combination for agroforestry systems to make up the deficiency of trees in the country. In the current work allelopathic effect of three species of Eucalyptus namely Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Eucalyptus citriodora and Eucalyptus tereticornis on two legume vegetables, Pisum sativum and Phaseolus vulgaris was investigated. There is no significant inhibitory effect due to allelochemicals on various growth parameters including yield (weight and number of pods) of Phaseolus vulgaris. However, the growth of Pisum sativum was significantly reduced due to allelopathic effect of all the three Eucalyptus species, maximum being of the decayed leaves of Eucalyptus citriodora followed by Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Eucalyptus tereticornis respectively. Similarly nodulation of sweet peas was significantly reduced by Eucalyptii in the above order.
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