Response of Cereals Crops and Associated Weeds to Moringa Aqueous Extract Application on Their Growth Metrics

Allelopathy has emerged as a pragmatic approach to address multiple issues in modern agriculture.Allelochemicals released from plant residues in the rhizosphere improve nutrient acquisition through solubilization, biological nitrification, inhibition, chelation, and selective retention.These compounds promote growth at low concentrations but may suppress it at higher levels.Keeping this in view the stimulatory behavior of MLE an investigation was conducted to evaluate the allelopathic effect of a 20% (w/v) aqueous extract of Moringa oleifera L. leaves on the germination and growth indices of different cereal crops including wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), maize (Zea mays L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.), and millet (Pennisetum americanum L.) with some common weeds i.e., Avena fatua, Echinochloa clona L., Cyprus rotundus, Convolvulus arvensis and Chenopodium album.A control treatment was maintained for comparison.Data were recorded on germination and growth parameters of cereals and weeds were significant at 5% probability level.The results revealed that the aqueous extract of M. oleifera differentially affected all cereal crops compared to the control.Similar behavior of MLE extract was noted in weeds.Wheat exhibited a slight increase in shoot length (from 14.72 to 15.6 cm) but reduced root length (from 19.26 to 12.82 cm) and a marginal decline in fresh weight (from 4.23 to 3.20 g plant -¹).Maize responded positively with an increase in fresh weight from 14.77 to 16.31 g plant -¹, dry weight from 2.4 to 3.2 g, and leaf area from 22.33 to 25.26 cm² plant -¹, though root elongation was reduced.Barley showed an improvement in shoot length (11.34 to 13.44 cm) and leaf area (13.14 to 17.21 cm² plant -¹) but experienced a decrease in dry weight (1.2 to 0.91 g).Sorghum showed no inhibitory effect on germination (6 days in both treatments) but had higher shoot and root biomass (fresh weight: 13.68 to 15.76 g plant -¹; dry weight: 3.4 to 3.9 g).Millet recorded the highest improvement in leaf area (19.33 to 26.21 cm² plant -¹) and growth rate (11.2 to 15.21 g m -² day -¹).MLE also improved the germination metrics and early growth indices of weeds.Moringa Oleifera aqueous extract has both growth-promoting and growth-inhibiting effects depending on the crop and weeds likely due to its phytohormones and allelochemicals.While beneficial for crops like wheat and barley, it may suppress others cereal upto some extent and stimulate weeds.Therefore, its use must be species-specific, concentrationcontrolled and further researched for safe agricultural application.