EFFECT OF DIFFERENT PLANT EXTRACTS ON GERMINATION AND GROWTH OF WHEAT AND ITS ASSOCIATED WEEDS

An experiment was carried out in the laboratory of Arid Zone Research Institute,  Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhaw  to study the effect of different plant extract on wheat and its associated weeds. The  design of  experiment was completely randomized (CRD) under room temperature (25 °C). Ten fungicide treated seeds of each of wheat, wild oats, canary grass and field bindweed were placed in petri dishes on blotting paper and were replicated four times. The extracts of sorghum, sunflower, brassica and rice were applied as treatments. The data were recorded on germination %, seedling length,  and fresh  and dry biomass (g) plant-1. Wheat crop was the most tolerant among all species under test. The findings revealed that the allelopathic potential of extracts tested could be exploited for weed management in wheat as the wheat crop remained most resistant and weeds were suppressed in germination and growth. Further research is recommended to probe out the feasibility of commercial exploitation of these extracts as natural herbicides.