Allelopathic Weed Suppression Through the Use of Cover Crops

There has long been observed an inhibitive response by plant species to certain neighboring plants. The Greek philosopher and botanist, Theophrastus, noted this effect from cabbage as early as 300 BC (Willis 1985). Since that time, others have documented similar plant interactions. In 1937, Austrian botanist, Hans Molisch, described this phenomenon as allelopathy, which he determined to be the result of biochemical interactions between plants (Molisch 1937; Putnam and Duke 1978). When first described, allelopathy referred to both deleterious and beneficial interactions between species; since that time, however, allelopathy has been applied to only adverse plant interactions, rather than to both. First described by a Roman scholar during the first century, black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) has long served as the common example of allelopathic effects with its ability to inhibit growth of surrounding plants either through decaying leaves or nuts or from the tree itself (Weir et al. 2004). Researchers have continued to examine allelopathy and the mechanism for biochemical inhibition, which was initially scrutinized by many since differentiation between this effect and plant competition remained uncertain (Weir et al. 2004). Subsequent bioassays involving specific chemical compounds extracted from plants have confirmed that certain species do, in fact, produce biochemicals that can inhibit plant germination and growth in the absence of resource competition (Einhellig 1994a).