The influence of nitrogen and phosphorus levels on the phytotoxicity of phenolic compounds

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Abstract
The interaction between the phytotoxicity of certain phenolic compounds and deprivation of certain nutrients was investigated by means of a factorial experiment. Two concentrations of p-coumaric acid and two of vanillic acid were added to nutrient solutions containing various quantities of nitrogen and phosphorus, and these solutions were tested on barley plants in sand culture. Phenolic toxicity appears to depend intimately on nutrient concentrations; the phenolic acids were uniformly and significantly inhibitory only at low nutrient concentrations. Allelopathy with phenolics as chemical inhibitors seems most likely to occur in nutrient-poor soils.