ARTICLE IN PRESS

Crop Protection 24 (2005) 413419

www.elsevier.com/locate/cropro

Evaluation of allelopathic potential among rice (Oryza sativa L.)

germplasm for control of Echinochloa crus-galli P. Beauv in the eld
J.K. Ahn, S.J. Hahn, J.T. Kim, T.D. Khanh, I.M. Chung
Department of Applied Life Science, College of Life & Environmental Science, Konkuk University, KwangJinKu HwaYangDong,
Seoul 143-701, Republic of Korea
Received 1 September 2004; received in revised form 10 September 2004; accepted 13 September 2004

Abstract
This study was undertaken to evaluate the allelopathic potential of 78 local Korean rice varieties on the height, leaf area, and
straw and leaf dry weights of Echinochloa in a paddy eld. Correlations between genetic and morphological characteristics of rice
varieties and allelopathic potential were conrmed, with Buldo (56.1%) and Agudo (54.4%) showing the highest average inhibitory
effects on barnyard grass. The average inhibition percentage on barnyard grass height, tiller number, total dry weight, straw dry
weight, and leaf dry weight ranged from 5.1% to 31.3% depending on the variety. Various characteristics of the varieties showed
different allelopathic effects. In crop morphology, there were no differences associated with the presence or absence of an awn, nor
with the awn colour. The inhibitory effects for coloured hulls (16.0%) were greater than colourless hulls (23.9%). There was an
increasing trend for inhibitory potential from late to early maturity of the variety. These results suggest that the allelopathic
potential differed between rice varieties and that genetic and morphological rice characteristics could be used as selection markers
for allelopathic rice varieties.
r 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Echinochloa; Genetic; Morphological; Characteristics; Variety

1. Introduction
Since crop plants were rst cultivated, weed control
has been an important aspect of their management
practices. Although the use of herbicides is a simple and
effective method for weed control used worldwide,
heavy use of herbicides may cause problems of environmental pollution that affect both animal and human
health (Chung et al., 1997; Stephenson, 2000).
For this reason, various other methods of weed
control have been studied. In particular, the exploitation
of allelopathic properties in plants may give promising
results (Chung et al., 2003). Allelopathy was was dened
by Rice (1984) to mean the direct or indirect harmful or
benecial effects of one plant on another through the
Corresponding author. Tel.:+82 2 450 3730; fax:+82 2 446 7856.

E-mail address: imcim@konkuk.ac.kr (I.M. Chung).

0261-2194/$ - see front matter r 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.cropro.2004.09.009

production of chemical compounds that escape into the

environment (Rice, 1984).
From the time Dilday et al. (1989, 1991) screened
about 12,000 rice accessions or varieties from the
USDA/ARS rice germplasm, many scientists have
studied the allelopathic potential of rice. These studies
of allelopathy mainly involved the screening of the
allelopathic potential of rice varieties, the identication
of allelochemicals from rice body parts, and the
development of new allelopathic varieties (Chou et al.,
1991; Garrity et al., 1992; Ahn and Chung, 2000; Chung
et al., 2001a, b, 2002; Jung et al., 2004; Lee et al., 2003,
2004; Song et al., 2004). Several researchers developed
competition models to evaluate the allelopathic potential between crops and weeds using different methods.
Additive methods are designed for when weed populations are added to crop populations, while replacement
experiments are based on the assumption that the yield

ARTICLE IN PRESS
414

J.K. Ahn et al. / Crop Protection 24 (2005) 413419

of each species in a mixture is proportional to the share

of environmental resources it can acquire, and dynamic
simulations of competition are based on a hyperbolic
relationship between biomass and plant density (Baeumer and DeWit, 1968; Spitters and Van Den Bergh,
1982). Olofsdotter et al. (1999) and Olofsdotter (2001)
reported the allelopathic potential of 111 rice cultivars
against Echinochloa under eld conditions over three
seasons in the Philippines and determined that rice
height was the most important factor inuencing weed
suppression. They asserted that allelopathy was more
inuenced by genetics than the environment. Chung et
al. (2003) and Jung et al. (2004) reported the correlations
between genetic and morphological characteristics and
allelopathic potential. The results of Chung et al. (2003)
indicated that domestic varieties, middle-maturing
varieties, and varieties with hull and with awn colour
had higher inhibitory effects on the germination rate,
percentage, and seedling dry weight of barnyard grass.
Jung et al. (2004) demonstrated that foreign varieties,
middle-maturing, and colourless hull varieties had
higher inhibitory effects on the emergence, height, and
dry weight of barnyard grass. Song et al. (2004) reported
that allelochemicals exuded from rice roots inhibited
Echinochloa growth. To date, studies on rice allelopathy
have concentrated on the varietal difference of allelopathic potential, biological effects on other plants
and weeds, and the isolation and identication of
chemicals responsible for allelopathic activities in rice.
However, information on rice morphology such as
height, tiller number, leaf area, straw dry-weight
characteristics and the allelopathic potential of rice has
not been described. If the correlation between morphological and genetic characteristics and allelopathic
potential of rice could be understood, rice cultivars with
strong allelopathic potential might be selected faster and
easier.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the
allelopathic potential of 78 local Korean rice varieties
on height, leaf area, and straw and leaf dry weights of
barnyard grass in paddy elds and to determine the
correlation between morphological and genetic characteristics and allelopathic potential in rice.

characteristics such as maturity time, existence of an

awn, and awn and hull colour were examined in each
rice variety.
2.2. Additive experiment method and evaluation of
allelopathic potential
This study was designed as an additive experiment
(Baeumer and DeWit, 1968; Spitters and Van Den
Bergh, 1982). The 78 rice varieties were grown in
seedling boxes for 45 days, and then planted by hand in
ve 30 cm rows with a 15 cm spacing (30
15 cm per
3.3 m2) between rows. Barnyard grass, grown in seedling
boxes for 40 days, were planted in ve rows across the
rice rows two weeks after they were planted (Fig. 1). No
herbicides were used and all other weeds were controlled
by band weeding. Fertilizer applications were carried
out at a dosage of 110-70-80 (N-P2O5-K2O kg ha1) and
pesticides were applied according to the standard
methods of rice cultivation in Korea. Barnyard grass,
planted separately, served as the control. Allelopathic
activity was recorded 67 days after planting based on
reductions in height, leaf area, leaf and straw dry weight,
and total dry weight. Barnyard grass plants from each
row were harvested and the highest extended leaf was
recorded as plant height (cm). The leaf area (LA) (cm2
plant1) and dry weight (65 1C oven-dried for 5 days) of
leaves and stems were then determined. LA was
measured with an automatic area metre (LI-3100 Area
metre, LI-COR, Inc., Lincoln, NE, USA), 1000 grain
weight was determined (Chung et al., 2001b), and the
inhibition percentage was calculated as
Inhibition percentage (%)=[(control-rice cultivar)/
control]
100.

30cm

15cm

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Preparation of rice cultivars and barnyard grass
Seventy-eight rice varieties, including 143 (PI 274471),
and barnyard grass (Echinochloa crus-galli P. Beauv.
var. oryzicola Ohwi) were cultivated and harvested at
the Konkuk University experimental farm in 2003. The
78 rice varieties were local Korean varieties and included
a popular variety cultivated in Korea, Illpum, which
was used as a control. Genetic and morphological

Rice
B
Barnyardgrass
Fig. 1. Diagram of additive experiment method.

ARTICLE IN PRESS
J.K. Ahn et al. / Crop Protection 24 (2005) 413419

2.3. Statistical analysis

The eld experiment was conducted twice with a
completely randomized design. Analyses of variance
were performed for all data using the general linear
model procedure (SAS Institute, 1988) and pooled mean
values were separated based on least signicant differences (LSD) at the 0.05 probability level.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Evaluation of allelopathic effects on the growth of
barnyard grass from 78 rice varieties
This study was performed to evaluate the allelopathic
potential of 78 rice varieties including 143 (PI 274471)
on the height, tiller number, leaf area, and straw, leaf
and total dry weights of barnyard grass in the eld.
Overall, Buldo (56.1%) and Agudo (54.4%) had the
highest average inhibitory effects on barnyard grass, and
1000 grain weight of the two varieties were 24.4 and
23.6 g, respectively (Table 1). The average inhibition
percentage on barnyard grass height was 5.1%. IRI 301
(Mangkyung) (25.4%) had the highest inhibitory effect
on height of the 78 rice varieties, and 13 varieties
including Baekhaedal had inhibition rates over 10%.
However, 65 varieties had inhibition rates below 10%.
The average inhibition percentage on the tiller number
was 25.6%, with three varieties including Buldo having
percentages of 73.3%. However, 24 varieties including
Gangreungdo had inhibitory effects below 10.0%. The
average inhibitory effect on leaf area was 29.1%, of
which Agudo (79.1%) showed the highest inhibition.
Although 15 varieties including Hwangtodo had inhibitory effects greater than 50%, 14 varieties including
Gangreungdo were less than 10%. The average inhibitory effect on total dry weight was 21.2%. While Buldo
(61.8%) had the highest inhibitory effect, 14 varieties
including Namkangbaekjo were less than 10%. The
average inhibitory effect on straw dry weight was
19.0%, of which Agudo (68.9%) had the highest
inhibitory effect. However, 28 varieties including
Cheonggunbyeo were less than 10%. The average
inhibitory effect on leaf dry weight was 31.3%. While
Buldo (71.6%) and Olbyeo (70.7%) had the highest
inhibitory effects, eight varieties including Hwangjo
were less than 10% (Table 1). In this study, total dry
weight was positively correlated with inhibitions in
height (r2 0:21 ), tiller number (r2 0:71 ), leaf area
(r2 0:81 ), straw dry weight (r2 0:90 ), and leaf
dry weight (r2 0:90 ). Inhibition of leaf area was
positively correlated with tiller number (r2 0:78 )
and inhibition of straw dry weight was positively
correlated with tiller number (r2 0:65 ) and leaf
area (r2 0:68 ). Inhibition of leaf dry weight was

415

positively correlated with tiller number (r2 0:62 ),

leaf area (r2 0:78 ), and straw dry weight
(r2 0:63 ). These results indicate that the rice
varieties might have different allelopathic potentials
against barnyard grass, and are supported by several
previous reports (Dilday et al., 1994; Olofsdotter et al.,
1995; Chung et al., 1997, 2003; Ahn and Chung, 2000).
For example, Dilday et al. (1989) screened approximately 5,000 rice varieties for allelopathy against
ducksalad (Heteranthera limosa (Sw.) Willd.), of which
about 4% demonstrated some allelopathic activity. Jung
et al. (2004) reported allelopathic potentials on emergence, height, and dry weight of 51.45%, 39.75%, and
65.13%, respectively, from 114 rice germplasm residues
in the laboratory. These results demonstrate that
allelopathic varieties had higher inhibitory effects on
height and tiller number than non-allelopathic varieties.
3.2. Correlation between plant morphology and
allelopathic potential of rice
This experiment aimed at determining the correlation
between morphological and genetic characteristics
and allelopathic potential of rice. The morphological
characteristic consisted of the presence or absence
of an awn, and the colour of the awn and hull. The
genetic characteristic was classied based on time to
maturation.
3.2.1. Allelopathic
effects
with
morphological
characteristics of the rice varieties
The average inhibitory effects with the presence or
absence of an awn were 22.5% and 22.7%, respectively,
while average inhibitory effects with coloured and
colourless awns when the awn was present were 22.8%
and 22.2%, respectively. Although the inhibitory effect
on leaf dry weight was higher in varieties that possessed
an awn, the result was not signicant (Table 2). In this
study, varieties that possessed an awn (r2 0:16 ) and
coloured awn varieties (r2 0:15 ) were negatively
correlated with straw dry weight. This result suggests
that coloured awn rice varieties had a lower inhibitory
effect on straw growth than varieties that did not possess
an awn, a result supported by Chung et al. (2003) and
Jung et al. (2004). In particular, Chung et al. (2003)
reported that the average inhibition percentages of
coloured awn, colourless awn, and awnless varieties
were 16.0%, 12.0%, and 14.0%, respectively. They also
reported that (1) although selection pressure for nonallelopathic varieties using the phenotype was weak, it
would still be valuable to research allelopathic rice
varieties based on the characteristic, and (2) high
inhibitory effects were correlated with inhibitions of
the germination per cent (r2 0:89 ) and total dry
weight (r2 0:77 ) in coloured awn varieties.

ARTICLE IN PRESS
J.K. Ahn et al. / Crop Protection 24 (2005) 413419

416

Table 1
Inhibitory effects of 78 rice varieties on the growth of barnyard grass in the paddy eld
Varieties

143 (PI 274471)

Agudo
Arongbyeo
Badolbyeo
Baekchalbyeo
Baekgwangok
Baekhaedal
Baekjicheongbyeo
Baekjo
Baekkyeongjo
Baekmangjo
Baekna
Bakkye
Banchonjo
Bandalbyeo
Baramdungkuri
Boribyeo
Buldo
Chanarak
Cheonggunbyeo
Cheongsando
Chindadachiki
Dabaegjo
Dadajo
Daegudo
Damagung
Danganeuibangju
Deokjeokjodo
Dong o byeo
Dongsanjo
Donna
Dorae
Duchungjong
Eumseon
Eunjo
F3-220
Gangcheongdo
Gangreungdo
Geum chang do
Geum jeom do
Guando
Hambureubyeo3
Heugbal
Heugsaekdo
Heunbe
Hochokjindo
Hongdodo
Huado
Hwangjo
Hwangtodo
IRI 233
IRI 286 (Nongkwang)
IRI 293 (Palgeum)
IRI 301 (Mangyung)
Jaeraejongna
Jangjo
Jangsamdo
Jangwang
Jeokmosaek

1000 grain weight (g)

26.8
23.6
20.4
20.9
25.5
22.3
23.6
25.5
26.9
23.4
27.6
23.5
21.9
21.3
23.4
24.3
20.7
24.4
22.9
26.0
24.0
20.2
22.6
23.1
22.7
22.0
28.8
23.5
25.7
25.3
26.6
25.2
25.3
22.9
21.8
24.8
23.4
25.6
25.5
23.3
22.1
23.9
23.1
23.8
23.8
24.4
21.8
25.6
24.7
24.6
23.8
21.7
28.3
23.8
27.9
26.2
26.9
23.7
23.1

Height

15.5
4.5
0
6.6
8.5
0.8
10.2
10.0
2.6
7.4
5.2
9.1
0.8
6.2
0.2
5.6
19.3
7.1
8.2
0
6.1
9.9
2.3
0
2.5
0
0
18.6
5.2
9.1
0.8
7.4
8.5
0
0
4.2
0
0
0
0
0
22.4
19.1
9.3
22.4
15.5
15.9
6.7
5.6
0
0
0
0
25.4
0
0
3.1
1.6
0

Tiller No.

0
73.3
23.3
3.3
40.0
33.3
33.3
33.3
40.0
36.7
3.3
0
20.0
50.0
63.3
0
36.7
73.3
0
36.7
10.0
36.7
56.7
46.7
30.0
0
3.3
13.3
3.3
0
33.3
36.7
3.3
43.3
23.3
46.7
33.3
6.7
0
56.7
26.7
20.0
33.3
13.3
20.0
0
0
3.3
0
46.7
63.3
73.3
10.0
36.7
60.0
60.0
33.3
33.3
16.7

Leaf area

19.5
79.1
15.4
20.5
33.7
59.6
28.0
46.7
25.9
41.9
13.9
22.6
30.1
45.4
45.3
0
59.0
70.6
11.6
37.9
11.2
46.1
74.2
13.4
1.4
0
24.7
35.0
13.9
22.6
59.6
41.9
19.2
15.8
22.8
44.2
4.0
9.3
0
54.9
10.4
41.0
43.1
25.5
41.0
19.9
0
20.5
0
50.4
36.5
60.6
18.8
52.4
69.5
43.6
24.8
32.3
8.8

Dry weight

Average

Straw

Leaf

Total

Inhibition (%)
16.4
68.9
23.5
4.2
28.9
12.7
14.6
51.5
19.9
22.9
0
23.3
0
25.1
30.3
0
20.0
52.0
8.9
6.9
0
33.3
64.5
40.4
0
0
16.2
33.5
0
23.3
12.7
22.9
0
22.5
0.2
16.7
12.0
0
0
65.4
37.2
34.8
14.1
0
34.8
16.4
0
4.2
0
26.9
22.0
12.7
23.3
32.8
46.7
48.8
12.5
35.1
0

30.2
44.1
24.1
26.4
42.7
50.7
36.3
60.4
42.5
44.6
15.7
21.4
30.9
43.9
48.5
5.1
59.0
71.6
13.9
46.4
28.3
43.8
34.3
22.8
16.3
3.4
24.2
31.8
15.7
21.4
50.7
44.6
16.0
18.5
24.6
45.7
17.5
13.0
0
46.7
21.4
54.0
49.0
24.3
54.0
30.2
3.7
26.4
5.1
46.3
25.6
50.7
21.4
31.1
56.6
22.2
12.3
26.4
0

23.3
56.5
23.8
15.3
35.8
31.7
25.5
56.0
31.2
33.7
7.9
22.3
15.4
34.5
39.4
2.5
39.5
61.8
11.4
26.6
14.2
38.5
49.4
31.6
8.2
1.7
20.2
32.6
7.9
22.3
31.7
33.7
8.0
20.5
12.4
31.2
14.7
6.5
0
56.0
29.3
44.4
31.6
12.2
44.4
23.3
1.9
15.3
2.5
36.6
23.8
31.7
22.3
31.9
51.6
35.5
12.4
30.7
0

17.5
54.4
18.4
12.7
31.6
31.5
24.6
43.0
27.0
31.2
7.7
16.5
12.2
34.2
37.8
2.2
38.9
56.1
9.0
25.7
11.6
34.7
46.9
25.8
9.7
0.8
14.8
27.5
7.7
16.5
31.5
31.2
9.2
20.1
13.9
31.5
13.6
5.9
0
46.6
20.8
36.1
31.7
14.1
36.1
17.5
3.6
12.7
2.2
34.5
28.6
38.2
16.0
35.0
47.4
35.0
16.4
26.6
4.3

ARTICLE IN PRESS
J.K. Ahn et al. / Crop Protection 24 (2005) 413419

417

Table 1 (continued )
Varieties

1000 grain weight (g)

Height

Tiller No.

Leaf area

Dry weight

Average

Straw

Leaf

Total

Jeona
Jeongdaldo
Jeongjo
Jinhwa
Namkangbaekjo
Namseon 1
Noindari
Noindo
Oegukbyeo
Olbyeo
Patbyeo
Pyeongbuk 4
Pyeongyang
Sancheongdo
Sangpung
Sanjo
Seogandodo
Seungsiljo
Sinbaegseog

22.9
24.0
25.4
24.8
21.7
23.2
22.6
20.5
25.0
23.3
22.0
26.2
25.8
25.2
24.9
23.1
23.5
24.7
23.6

0.8
2.6
6.0
0.8
0
0
0
0
0
0
1.91
0
13.9
4.8
11.4
3.7
0
0
4.5

0
0
10.0
0
10.0
16.7
13.3
56.7
46.7
6.7
26.7
46.7
0
43.3
36.7
0
30.0
16.7
3.3

0
10.0
17.1
9.0
0
15.0
18.7
56.2
19.9
16.7
25.1
50.4
24.6
64.3
69.6
18.5
28.8
4.3
3.0

0
0
23.9
10.1
16.1
5.7
0
49.7
23.0
18.1
0
26.9
7.3
42.6
31.2
3.1
0
5.4
26.3

0
10.6
30.2
16.2
1.5
25.6
54.9
43.5
25.8
70.7
27.4
46.3
13.0
66.0
59.9
20.6
25.4
28.4
36.6

0
5.3
27.1
13.1
8.8
15.6
27.4
46.6
24.4
44.4
13.7
36.6
10.2
54.3
45.5
11.9
12.7
16.9
31.4

0
4.8
19.1
8.2
6.1
13.1
19.0
42.1
23.3
26.1
15.8
34.5
11.3
45.9
42.4
9.6
16.2
11.9
17.5

Average

24.0

5.1

25.6

29.1

19.0

31.3

21.2

22.5

2.5

13.9

42.1

42.3

41.2

42.6

39.1

31.8

LSD (0.05)

Table 2
Comparison of allelopathic potential of varieties with and without an awn
1000 grain weight (g)

Height

Tiller No.

Leaf area

Dry weight
Straw

Average

Leaf

Total

Inhibition (%)
Awn
Coloured
Colourless
Average

24.2
24.2
24.2

6.1
5.0
5.6

24.1
25.6
24.9

29.7
30.0
29.8

17.6
16.0
16.7

33.7
32.5
33.1

25.6
24.6
25.1

22.8
22.2
22.5

Awnless

23.6

4.3

27.1

27.5

24.4

27.2

25.8

22.7

0.8

3.1

10.3

10.1

8.9

9.1

8.2

7.0

LSD (0.05)

The average inhibitory effect of coloured hulls

(16.0%) was greater than that of colourless hulls
(23.9%). Coloured hull varieties inhibited barnyard
grass in all parameters other than for height, with
particular signicance for tiller number, total dry
weight, and straw dry weight (Table 3). In this study,
coloured hull varieties were found to be negatively
correlated with total dry weight (r2 0:17 ), tiller
number (r2 0:17 ), straw dry weight (r2 0:16 ),
and leaf dry weight (r2 0:14 ). The result of our
ndings supports previous conclusions by Jung et al.
(2004) and Chung et al. (2003) that coloured hull
varieties had lower inhibitory effects on straw growth
than colourless hull rice varieties.

3.2.2. Correlation between genetic characteristic and

allelopathic potential of rice
The average inhibition percentages of early, middle,
and late maturing varieties were 19.8%, 22.1%, and
25.7%, respectively. However, these results were not
signicant. According to the inhibitory effect of each
maturity group, leaf dry weight had the highest
inhibition percentage and the lowest height (Table 4).
From our results, maturity was found to be correlated
with height, tiller number, and straw dry weight. In
particular, late maturing varieties were negatively
correlated with height (r2 0:25 ), and positively
correlated with tiller number (r2 0:23 ) and straw
dry weight (r2 0:15 ). This result was supported by

ARTICLE IN PRESS
J.K. Ahn et al. / Crop Protection 24 (2005) 413419

418

Table 3
Comparison of allelopathic potential of varieties with coloured and colourless hulls
1000 grain weight (g)

Coloured hull
Colourless hull

Height

Tiller No.

Leaf area

24.3
24.0

6.1
4.9

15.6
27.6

22.8
30.4

0.9

3.4

11.0

10.9

LSD (0.05)

Dry weight

Average

Straw

Leaf

Total

Inhibition (%)
10.6
20.7

23.8
32.8

17.2
26.7

16.0
23.9

9.8

8.7

7.5

9.6

Table 4
Comparison of allelopathic potential according to time of maturation
1000 grain weight (g)

Early
Middle
Late
LSD (0.05)

Height

Tiller No.

Leaf area

23.8
24.0
24.3

8.2
3.5
3.5

19.3
23.5
33.8

26.0
27.5
33.7

0.8

3.0

10.0

10.0

Chung et al. (2003), who reported that middle maturing

varieties (15.3%) and varieties with hull colour (15.1%)
and coloured awns (16.0%) had greater inhibition
percentages. Dilday et al. (1989) noted that approximately 191 accessions that demonstrated allelopathic
activity also exhibited genetic diversity for plant
characteristics such as plant height, maturity, grain
type, plant type, hull cover, hull colour, and culm
strength. Also, weed suppression score was demonstrated to be highly correlated with weed weight per plot
in both the low and moderate weeding treatments
(Garrity et al., 1992). Thus, late maturing varieties had
lower inhibitory effects on height, but higher inhibitory
effects on tiller number and straw dry weight. In this
study, our results differ slightly from those of the
previous reports (Chung et al., 2000, 2003; Jung et al.,
2004) with regard to the allelopathic potential of rice
germplasm. For example, Chung et al. (2000) reported
that Seogandodo (67.07%) had the highest inhibition
percentage among 79 local Korean varieties with rice
straw mixture in the green house study. However,
Seogandodo only showed a 16.2% inhibitory effect in
this study (Table 1). Allelopathy and competition are
also clearly related in the eld although their mechanisms are distinct. Growth inhibition by allelopathy
would be expected to reduce the competitive ability of
the inhibited plant. Thus, differential activity including
both inhibitory and stimulatory relationships between
eld and laboratory study would be expected.

Dry weight

Average

Straw

Leaf

Total

Inhibition (%)
14.3
20.2
22.7

29.2
31.9
32.9

21.7
26.1
27.8

19.8
22.1
25.7

9.1

8.1

6.9

8.8

In conclusion, the objective of this study was to

evaluate the allelopathic potential on barnyard grass
from rice germplasm in paddy elds and to correlate
genetic and morphological characteristics of rice varieties with allelopathic potential. It is difcult to select
from allelopathic varieties in rice germplasm because
allelopathic potential consists of complex reactions
between the plant and several conditions such as water
stress, temperature, light, plant age, and soil. If the
correlation between morphological and genetic characteristics and allelopathic potential of rice could be
understood, rice cultivars with strong allelopathic
potential might be selected faster and easier. Our
ndings from this study suggest that allelopathic
potential varied among rice variety and that morphological and genetic characteristics might be used as
selection markers for allelopathic rice varieties. The
effective utilization of genetic variation for weedinhibition ability in rice would depend on whether the
genetic variation was sufciently broad because the trait
had a large negative relationship with grain yield
potential. Genotypes could be screened for the trait in
a practical manner. However, more experiments between rice and weed plants and investigations of more
genetic and morphological characteristics using a larger
number of rice varieties are needed. In addition, further
examination of the eld experimental design should be
made, as additive and replacement designs are required
to select allelopathic varieties under eld conditions.

ARTICLE IN PRESS
J.K. Ahn et al. / Crop Protection 24 (2005) 413419

Further investigation is needed to analyse any inhibitory

substances in the varietal variation.

Acknowledgements
The authors wish to acknowledge the nancial
support of the Rural Development Administration
made to the BioGreen 21 in 2003.
References
Ahn, J.K., Chung, I.M., 2000. Allelopathic potential of rice hulls on
germination and seedling growth of barnyardgrass. Agron. J. 92,
11621167.
Baeumer, K., DeWit, C.T., 1968. Competitive interference of plant
species in monoculture and mixed stands. Neth. J. Agric. Sci. 16,
103122.
Chou, C.H., Chang, F.J., Oka, H.I., 1991. Allelopathic potentials of
wild rice Oryza perennis. Taiwania 36, 201210.
Chung, I.M., Kim, K.H., Ahn, J.K., Ju, H.J., 1997. Allelopathic
potential of rice varieties on Echinochloa crus-galli. Korean J. Weed
Sci. 17, 5258.
Chung, I.M., Ahn, J.K., Kim, J.T., Kim, C.S., 2000. Assessment
of allelopathic potentiality and identication of allelopathic
compounds on Korean local varieties. Korean J. Crop Sci. 45,
4449.
Chung, I.M., Ahn, J.K., Yun, S.J., 2001a. Identication of allelopathic
compounds from rice (Oryza sativa L.) straw and their biological
activity. Can. J. Plant Sci. 81, 815819.
Chung, I.M., Ahn, J.K., Yun, S.J., 2001b. Assessment of allelopathic
potential of barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli) on rice (Oryza
sativa L.) cultivars. Crop Prot 20, 921928.
Chung, I.M., Kim, K.H., Ahn, J.K., Chun, S.C., Kim, C.S., Kim, J.T.,
Kim, S.H., 2002. Screening of allelochemicals on barnyardgrass
(Echinochloa crus-galli) and identication of potentially allelopathic compounds from rice (Oryza sativa) variety hull extracts.
Crop Prot 21, 913920.
Chung, I.M., Kim, K.H., Ahn, J.K., Lee, S.B., Kim, S.H., Hahn, S.J.,
2003. Comparison of allelopathic potential of rice leaves, straw,
and hull extracts on barnyardgrass. Agron. J. 95, 10631070.
Dilday, R.H., Nastasi, P., Smith Jr., R.J., 1989. Potential allelopathic
activity of rice (Oryza sativa L.) germplasm. Proceedings of the

419

42nd Annual Meeting of the Southern Weed Science Society,

p. 261.
Dilday, R.H., Nastasi, P., Li, J., Smith Jr., R.J., 1991. Allelopathy
activity in rice (Oryza sativa L.) against ducksalad (Heteranthera
limosa (Sw.)). In: Sustainable Agriculture for the Great Plains,
Symposium proceedings, US Department of Agriculture,
pp. 193201.
Dilday, R.H., Lin, J., Yan, W., 1994. Identication of allelopathy in
the USDA-ARS rice germplasm collection. Aust. J. Exp. Agr. 34,
907910.
Garrity, D.P., Movillon, M., Moody, K., 1992. Differential weed
suppression ability in upland rice cultivars. Agron. J. 84, 586591.
Jung, W.S., Kim, K.H., Ahn, J.K., Hahn, S.J., Chung, I.M., 2004.
Allelopathic potential of rice (Oryza sativa L.) residues against
Echinochloa crus-galli. Crop Prot. 23, 211218.
Lee, S.B., Kim, K.H., Hahn, S.J., Chung, I.M., 2003. Evaluation of
screening methods to determine the allelopathic potential of rice
varieties against Echinochloa crus-galli Beauv. var. oryzicola Ohwi.
Allelopathy J 12, 3752.
Lee, S.B., Ku, Y.C., Kim, K.H., Hahn, S.J., Chung, I.M., 2004.
Allelopathic potential of rice germplasm against barnyardgrass.
Allelopathy J 13, 1728.
Olofsdotter, M., 2001. Ricea step toward use of allelopathy. Agron.
J. 39, 38.
Olofsdotter, M., Navarez, K., Moody, K., 1995. Allelopathic potential
in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Ann. Appl. Biol. 127, 543560.
Olofsdotter, M., Navarez, D., Rebulanan, M., Streibig, J.C., 1999.
Weed-suppressing rice cultivarsdoes allelopathy play a role?
Weed Res 39, 441454.
Rice, E.L., 1984. Allelopathy, Second ed. Academic Press, Orlando,
FL.
SAS Institute, 1988. SAS/STAT Users Guide, 6.03 ed. SAS Inst.,
Cary, NC.
Song, H.K., Ahn, J.K., Ahmad, A., Hahn, S.J., Kim, S.H., Chung,
I.M., 2004. Identication of allelochemicals in rice exudates at
various phenological phases and their inuence on barnyard grass.
Allelopathy J 13, 173188.
Spitters, C.J.T., Van Den Bergh, J.P., 1982. Competition between crop
and weeds: a system approach. In: Holzner, W., Numata, N.
(Eds.), Biology and Ecology of Weeds. W. Junk, The Hague,
pp. 137148.
Stephenson, G.R., 2000. Herbicide use and world food production:
risks and benets. In: Legere, A. (Ed.), Abstracts of III
International Weed Science Congress, Foz do Iguassu, Brazil,
611 June 2000. International Weed Science Society, Corvallis, OR,
p. 248.