Laboratory and field experiments show the allelopathic potential of Sorghum bicolor L., inhibiting germination and development of weeds and even succession crops. Allelopathic effects of aqueous extracts from leaves, stems and roots of five sorghum hybrids (SARA, DKB860, DKB599, XBG00478 and XBG06020) were evaluated on soybean (MG/BR 46 - Conquista) germination and seedling development. Two bioessays were conducted from March to June 2002. The controls were: distilled water; distilled water with pH adjusted to 4.5; distilled water with pH adjusted to 6.0; and polyethylene glycol solution (PEG) equivalent to the osmotic potential of 0.1 MPa. Significant effect was found only for radicle length; seedlings treated with sorghum extracts had significantly smaller radicles than the controls. The root extracts from SARA, DKB860, XBG00478 and XBG06020 reduced radicle length, differing from DKB599. Leaf extracts from XBG00478 resulted in the smallest average, statistically different from SARA extracts. SARA stem extracts resulted in the smallest radicles, differing only from XBG00478. Leaf extracts of DKB860 and XBG00478 were more inhibitory than root and stem extracts, while for DKB599, XBG06020 and SARA, leaf and stem extracts were equally inhibitory.
Sorghum bicolor; Glycine max; allelopathy; hybrids
