Potencial alelopático da espécie amazônica: Palicourea nitidella (müll.agr.) standl

Abstract

The chemical substances that a plant produces and releases intotheenvironment can have positive or negative effects on the development of vegetation, this chemical interaction between plants is known as allelopathy. Little is knownabout allelopathic interactions between Amazonian plants, initial studies are important toadvance research in the area. We sought to verify the allelopathic potential of Palicourea nitidella, a Rubiaceae common in capoeira areas, in Terra-firme inthemunicipality of Tefé, Amazonas. For this, extracts of P. nitidella were testedingermination bioassays using lettuce and tomato seeds; while, lettuce seeds wereusedin the developmental bioassay. Aqueous extracts of P. nitidella were usedat concentrations of 1%, 1.5%, 2% and 2.5% (mass/volume). The experiments were set upwith 10 repetitions of each extract plus the control, each repetition was composedof 10 propagules (seeds for the germination bioassay, seedlings for the development bioassay). Statistical tests considered p=0.05%. All germination parameters of bothtarget species were negatively affected by the extracts, but the average germinationtime of lettuce seeds was the most affected parameter. The allelochemical effectsaffected the dry weight and the number of necrosis, as well as reducing the growthof the limbus and secondary roots in relation to development. With the exceptionof thelength of the seedlings, which did not show a difference in relation to the seedlings inthe control group. Palicourea nitidella was shown to be a species with potential inhibitory allelopathic effects, however, future research can verify these effects inthefield and in native seeds. Intraspecific tests can also clarify whether allelopathic effectscan affect the special distribution and regulate populations of P. nitidella