Allelochemicals stress factors, interactions

Interactions Among Allelochemicals and Other Stress Factors of the Plant Environment... 

Einhellig, F.A. Interaction among allelochemicals and other stress factors of the plant environment. In Allelochemicals, Role in Agriculture and Forestry, GR Waller ed., ACS Symposium Series, Vol. 330. American Chemical Society, Washington DC, USA 1987 pp. 343-357. 

Einhellig, F. A. 1987. Interactions Among Allelochemicals and Other Stress Factors of the Plant Environment. In Allelochemicals Role in Agriculture and Forestry, Waller, G. D., ed. ACS Symposium Series, 330. Washington, DC, American Chemical Society, pp.343-357. 

Several phenolic acids and many nonspecific allelopathic conditions have been shown to alter the mineral content of plants, and certainly phenolic allelochemicals may perturb cellular functions in a number of ways that are of importance to plant nutrition (34,35). However, raising fertility does not always suppress allelopathic inhibition, and the interrelationships between these two factors are still not clear. Bhowmik and Doll (36) showed that allelopathic inhibition of corn and soybeans by residues of five annual weeds was not alleviated by supplemental nitrogen or phosphorus. Similarly, an increase in fertilizer did not overcome inhibition of corn by quackgrass or circumvent the autotoxicity of berseem clover Trifolivm alexandrium L.) (37,38). Even when raising nutrient levels releases Inhibition, it does not mean that allelopathy was inoperative under the original conditions. These instances simply illustrate the importance of the Interaction of the two stress conditions. 

Thus, the potential Impact of an allelochemical on plant growth should be evaluated with regard to both the presence of associated allelopathic compounds and the influence of other chemical and physical conditions in the environment. Certainly allelochemical action is not an isolated event, and from the standpoint of plant functions, the controversy between competitive and allelochemical Interference loses some of its significance. Allelochemical action needs to be regarded with a holistic view where one stress may reinforce, or magnify, another. From this perspective, inhibition of plant growth is not so much a matter of which factor is most detrimental instead it is determined by the interaction of multiple stresses. 

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