The possible relevance of allelopathy to agriculture

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Many plant species contain toxic secondary chemicals, but it is still uncertain how often allelopathy (the influence of one plant on another by means of a toxic chemical) actually operates in field conditions. The complexities are illustrated by the effects of couch grass on crop species.It has been suggested that crops could be selected for ability to suppress weeds by allelopathy, but the few attempts at this show only limited promise. More promising appear to be: (a) the production of synthetic herbicides chemically similar to natural plant toxins; (b) the blocking of the production by grassland weeds of chemicals that deter grazers; (c) the chemical control of toxin production by microorganisms in decomposing crop residues.