EVALUATING THE ALLELOPATHIC INFLUENCE OF MESQUITE (Prosopis juliflora DC.) AQUEOUS LEAF EXTRACT ON THE GERMINATION OF RICE (Oryza sativa L.) SEEDS USING DIFFERENT GERMINATION INDICES

Prosopis juliflora DC. is well-known for its invasive and allelopathic nature. A laboratory experiment was established to examine the effect of aqueous extract of P. juliflora on rice seed germination. The extract stock was prepared from fresh and dried leaves (in the ratio of 1:20), subjected to incubation from 1 to 7 days under standard conditions. Two concentrations viz., 0.1 and 1% were prepared from the stock. Extract was analyzed for total polyphenol content, pH and EC prior to set up of the experiment. Rice seeds were inoculated for germination in the petri plates containing extract moistened (0.1% and 1%) filter papers. Germination was recorded each day up to 10 days and germination indices were statistically compared to the control. Further, the germination was correlated to the levels of polyphenols content, pH and EC of the extracts. Most of the treatments had no effect on germination; however, some treatments showed inhibition and others stimulation. The mature leaf extracts were found to be favourable for the germination. Among all, the 0.1% two days (2D) mature leaves’ extracts were particularly stimulatory.