Allelopathic and autotoxic effects of sorghum extract and residues on seed behavior, and morphological, physiological, and biochemical responses of several plants.
Shahmohammadi F, Abdi M, Faramarzi A, Ajalli J, Nourafcan H
Crop Improvement
It means that what you grew in your garden or farm field last season could be quietly sabotaging what you're trying to grow this season — and understanding which crops are most at risk can help you plan smarter rotations.
Sorghum plants produce natural chemicals — found in their roots and leaves — that can slow down or even prevent other plants from sprouting and growing nearby. Researchers tested eight common crops and found that the more sorghum material was present, the worse the damage. Some plants, like alfalfa and beans, were hit hardest, while sorghum itself was surprisingly good at tolerating its own chemicals, especially when water was scarce.
Key Findings
Sorghum aqueous extracts at concentrations of 2–8% caused clear, dose-dependent reductions in germination and seedling growth across all eight crop species tested.
Alfalfa and cowpea were the most sensitive crops, showing the greatest suppression under combined allelopathic and drought stress, and were excluded from the greenhouse phase.
Sorghum showed the greatest self-tolerance among all tested crops when exposed to its own root residues under drought conditions, suggesting a competitive advantage in mixed or rotated systems.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Sorghum plants release natural chemicals that suppress the growth of neighboring crops — and this effect gets stronger the more sorghum material is present. The study tested this across eight crops under drought conditions, finding that legumes like alfalfa and cowpea were most vulnerable, while sorghum itself was most resilient.
Abstract Preview
This study investigated the allelopathic potential of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) by applying aqueous extracts (0, 2, 4, 6, and 8%), root residues, and burned root residues to eight crop species (...
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Sorghum bicolor, commonly called sorghum and also known as broomcorn, great millet, Indian millet, Guinea corn, jowar, or milo, is a species in the grass genus Sorghum. It is typically an annual, but some cultivars are perennial. It grows in clumps that may reach over 4 metres (13 ft) high. The g...