INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MEDICAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES Research Paper ALLELOPATHIC POTENTIAL OF FORSSKEOLEA TENECISSEMA Shahida Naveed 1 , Farrukh Hussain 2 , Inayatullah Khattak 3 Ijaz Ahmad Khan 4 ,Barkatullah 1 1. Botany Department, University of Peshawar, Pakistan 2. Center of Plant Biodiversity, University of Peshawar, Pakistan 3. NRM –Coordinator, SRSP, District Karak, Pakistan 4. Department of Weed Science KPK Agricultural University Peshawar, Pakistan Abstract Forskeolea tenacissema is a herbaceous wasteland plant growing in dry habitat. Laboratory study was performed to investigate the allelopathic potential of its leaves, stem, litter, mulch, rhizosphere soil and rhizosphere soil extract. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design (CRD) by taking five replication per treatment. The results showed that aqueous extracts invariably reduced the seed germination, plumule \ radical growth, fresh\ dry weight of test species Triticum aestivum and Brassica compestris. Phytotoxicity of the plant was concentration and soaking duration dependent. Extracts of longer duration (48 hours) were inhibitorier. Leaves proved more toxic than stems. Hot water extract were inhibitory than aqueous extract obtained at room temperature .Added litter and mulching experiment also proved inhibitory. However rhizosphere soil and rhizosphere soil extract exhibited stimulatory to test species. Results of present studies showed that use of plant extract as herbicides to control the weeds will bring a great success in this area. Moreover, these positive allelopathic extracts should also be investigated to exploit its benefits in crop productions Key words: Forskeolea tenacissema, Allelopathy, Rhizosphere Soil, Wheat, Brassica. INTRODUCTION Allelopathy is an interferences mechanism in which plants influence growth of each other by means of exudates, leachates or from the residue incorporated in the growing medium [1]. Allelochemicals may reach to the crop by leachates from foliage or by root exudation and the leaf extract also inhibit the germination in the different plants and cause the several root infections [2]. The plants may exhibit inhibitory or rarely stimulatory effect on germination and growth of other plants in the immediate vicinity [3]. A number of wild herbaceous plants have been reported to exhibit allelopathy. It includes Urtica urens [4)]Lactuca sativa ,Solanum nigrum,Chenopodium album [5] and Cenchrus ciliarus and Bothriochloa pertusa [6]. Wakijra [7] reported allelopathy in Parthenium hysterophorus ,Withania somnifera, Dathura alba [8], Malva sylvestris and Sisymbrium irio [9], Pueraria Montana [10], Urtica dioica ,Artemisia, and other wild medicinal plants www.earthjournals.org Volume 1 Issue 1 2012 5