Abstract            Volume:4  Issue-1  Year-2016         Original Research Articles

Online ISSN : 2347 - 3215 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcret@gmail.com

A study was carried out to assess the inhibitory potential of linalool, a volatile monoterpene found in many flowers and spice plants against coffee-weed, Cassia occidentalis. Linalool was found to have a significant inhibitory effect on the germination and early seedling growth of the test weed. The germination in the test weed was reduced by about 17% at the lowest concentration of 0.2 nl/cc and a complete germination inhibition was observed at 20 nl/cc linalool treatment. Similarly, the seedling growth of the test weed in terms of radicle length, seedling length and seedling dry weight was appreciably reduced in response to various increasing concentrations of linalool. Likewise, the physiological parameters viz. the content of total chlorophyll and percent cellular respiration of the test weed were also reduced to varying degrees compared to control, indicating a negative effect of the test monoterpene on the photosynthetic efficiency and energy metabolism of the weed species. Based on the above study, it is concluded that linalool possesses weed-suppressing abilities and can be employed for the management of obnoxious weeds.

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