Allelopathic Effects of Lantana (Lantana camara L.) Leaf Extracts on Germination and Early Growth of three Agricultural Crops in Ethiopia

Allelopathic potential of aqueous extracts of lantana (Lantana camara L.) leaf on germination and growth of three agricultural crops: Maize, Finger millet and Tef, commonly cultivated in Ethiopia were studied under laboratory condition. The aqueous extracts were assayed at 5, 10, 25, 50 and 75% and their allelopathic effects were compared with distilled water (control). All the aqueous extracts did not significantly influence germination of the agricultural crops except 75% extract which significantly reduced germination of tef. All the leaf extracts stimulated root growth of maize and finger millet plants with the effect being declined with rise of concentration. In contrast, tef plants had reduced root growth in various leaf extracts with the highest reduction occurring at higher concentrations (25, 50 and 75%). The shoots of maize plants were also stimulated by all extract concentrations; whereas shoot growth of both tef and finger millet were not significantly affected by the leaf extracts. The results generally showed that lantana leaf extracts had stimulatory effects on early growth of maize and finger millet and inhibitory effects on tef growth.