Seeds of 82 species of weed and crop plants were tested for germinability after dry storage or storage in fresh water for 3 to 60 months. Seeds of 24 species did not germinate after storage in water for 12 months or less; whereas some seeds of 27 species germinated after 60 months in water storage. When stored in water for longer than 12 months some seeds of only 22% of the annual monocots tested germinated; whereas about 75% of the perennial monocots, and annual and perennial dicots germinated. Species whose seeds consistently germinated better after water storage than after dry storage were western waterhemlock [Cicuta douglasii (DC.) Coult. & Rose], woolly sedge (Carex lanuginosa Michx.), pale smartweed (Polygonum lapathifolium L.), bouncingbet (Saponaria officinalis L.), and blue vervain (Verbena hastata L.).

The influence of wheat variety on the dose-response of annual ryegrass to diclofop-methyl (POST) was examined in the field in 1992 and 1993 in southern New South Wales, Australia. The aim was to determine if planting a strongly competitive variety of wheat improved control of annual ryegrass at reduced doses of diclofop-methyl. Suppression of ryegrass was dependent on herbicide dose, season, and wheat variety. In the absence of herbicide, dry matter (DM) production of annual ryegrass at 300 plants m−2 at anthesis was 500 g ha−1 with Dollarbird and Katunga compared to 1000 g ha−1with Rosella or Shrike in 1992. In 1993, DM was approximately 150 g ha−1 with Dollarbird or Katunga, and 350 g ha−1with Shrike or Rosella. Ryegrass DM was reduced by diclofop-methyl to a greater extent, relative to the weedy unsprayed controls, with less competitive varieties Rosella and Shrike than with the more competitive Dollarbird or Katunga. Diclofop-methyl at 0.28 kg a.i. ha−1 reduced DM of ryegrass growing with Katunga to less than 100 g m−2 in 1992, compared to more than 200 g m2 with the other varieties. In 1993, diclofop-methyl was more effective on ryegrass, and the same dose reduced ryegrass DM to almost zero in all varieties. Grain yields in unsprayed weedy controls of Dollarbird and Katunga were reduced approximately 20% by annual ryegrass compared with yields achieved with herbicides in both years. Yields of Rosella and Shrike in the unsprayed controls were reduced about 40% in 1992 and 60% in 1993. Only small increases in grain yields of all varieties occurred from diclofop-methyl doses above 0.13 kg a.i. ha−1. Poorly competitive varieties were dependent on herbicides to achieve grain yield potential and had a greater risk of weed survival when herbicide efficacy was reduced. In contrast, strongly competitive varieties, likely to retard build-up of weed seed in the soil, are less dependent on herbicides to achieve grain yield potential, and therefore result in reduced weed control cost.

A water-corn oil (unrefined) emulsion has promise as a carrier for application of the mycoherbicide, Colletotrichum truncatum. We investigated this formulation (normal emulsion; oil in water) for influences on conidia germination, appressoria formation, and mycoherbicidal activity of C. truncatum. Germination of conidia after application to hemp sesbania leaves was increased from 30% in water alone to 92% in the water-corn oil emulsion (water:oil, 1:1, by vol). The emulsion did not affect appressoria formation. of the several other oils tested, safflower seed oil enhanced in vitro germination but did not enhance germination and mycoherbicide activity when the conidia-emulsion formulation was applied to hemp sesbania leaves. Application of C. truncatum conidia in the unrefined corn oil emulsion to hemp sesbania seedlings resulted in 89 to 97% control of the weed after a 24 to 72 h dew delay. The emulsion enhanced mycoherbicide efficacy by stimulating conidia germination by protecting the conidia during a dew-free period, hence, increasing weed infection when a dew occurred.

The effects of twelve substituted dinitroaniline herbicides on soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr., ‘Corsoy’], velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti Medic.), and giant foxtail (Setaria faberi Herrm.) were evaluated under field conditions in 1971 and 1972; and the relative persistence of herbicide residues in soil was determined by field bioassay. Of the herbicides tested, dinitramine (N 4,N 4-diethyl-α,α,α-trifluoro-3,5-dinitrotoluene-2,4-diamine), trifluralin (α,α,α-trifluoro-2,6-dinitro-N,N-dipropyl-p-toluidine), and benefin (N-butyl-N-ethyl-α,α,α-trifluoro-2, 6-dinitro-p-toluidine) reduced soybean stands in 1971. Only dinitramine reduced soybean stands in 1972 when applied in low rates, but all of the herbicides except CGA-10832 (N,N-propyl-N-cyclopropylmethyl-4-trifluoromethyl-2,6-dinitroaniline) and chlornidine [N,N(2-chloroethyl)-2,6-dinitro-4-methylaniline] reduced soybean stands at high rates. Overall, oryzalin (3,5-dinitro-N 4,N 4-dipropylsulfanilamide), dinitramine, and BAS-3921 H[N-propyl-N-(2-chloroethyl)-2,6-dinitro-4-trifluoromethylaniline] provided the best velvetleaf control; while trifluralin, benefin, CGA-10832, and BAS-3921 H produced the most satisfactory giant foxtail control. In 1972, residues of seven of the herbicides caused injury to oats planted over the plot area 355 days after the original herbicide application. The greatest oat injury was caused by trifluralin and oryzalin. Oats were not injured, however, from dinitramine residues when planted only 75 days after the herbicide application.

During 2004 to 2008, weed surveys were conducted in 373 wheat fields of two different cropped areas (southwest [SW] and southeast [SE]) of the southern region of Buenos Aires Province of Argentina where different weed communities were expected because of changes in cropping practices over time, including tillage, crop sequence, fertilizers, and herbicides applied. Weed communities differed between regions, with greater numbers of native species for the SW. Weed community diversity was also greater for the SW region, probably due to the more diverse land use that resulted in greater landscape heterogeneity. Rush skeletonweed, sand rocket, yellow starthistle and turnipseed occurred at higher constancy (proportion of fields in which a given species is present) in the SW region, whereas common chickweed, false bishop's weed, corn speedwell, and common lambsquarters were present more frequently in the SE region. Compared with the 1982 survey, constancy of weeds increased, but those species with high constancy in 1982 were also with high constancy in the recent surveys. Diversity (species richness) was greater in conventional than in a no-tillage system. The constancy of Italian ryegrass, sand rocket, and yellow starthistle was lower under no-till than conventional tillage. Surveys allow identification of changes in weed community related to different agricultural systems. Rotation of crops and livestock avoid the homogenization of the environment at the landscape level. Management strategies will be necessary to prevent the increase of weeds populations' size, preserving plant diversity and the properties of the agroecosystem.

Field experiments conducted from 1987 through 1991 at the Delta Branch Experiment Station, Stoneville, MS, determined the effect of postemergence topical applications of fluometuron and MSMA on cotton yield and fruiting. Herbicide treatments applied to cotton in the cotyledon to 1-leaf growth stage were 1.12 kg ai ha-1 fluometuron plus 0.25% by vol nonionic surfactant, 2.2 kg ai ha-1 MSMA, and a combination of 1.12 kg ha-1 fluometuron and 2.24 kg ha-1 MSMA. The commercial formulation of MSMA contained nonionic surfactant. Visual injury of cotton 14 d after treatment ranged from 14 to 28% for fluometuron, 9 to 26% for MSMA, and 22 to 34% for the combination. Seed cotton yield at the first harvest was reduced by all herbicide treatments except in 1987 and for DES 119 cotton in 1990. In 1990, yield of DES 119 cotton treated with MSMA and the combination was less than the untreated control for the second harvest interval. Cotton yield from herbicide treatments at later harvests was equal to or greater than the untreated control. Only in 1988 did all treatments reduce total seed cotton yield below the untreated control. Fiber quality was not adversely affected by the herbicides. Compared to the control, plant mapping indicated that the number of sympodial branches per plant was reduced by MSMA and by the combination for DPL 50 cotton in 1990. Averaged over 4 experiment years, herbicide treatments did not reduce total bolls per plant; percentage of bolls in first, second, or outer positions; highest sympodium with two bolls; or number of sympodium with bolls in the first or second position. However, MSMA and the combination increased node number of the first sympodia by one and 1.5 positions, respectively, when compared to the control, indicating delayed maturity.

Efficacy, movement, and degradation of dithiopyr and pendimethalin were monitored after application to perennial ryegrass turf in 1990 and 1991. Dithiopyr at 0.6 kg ai ha−1 reduced large crabgrass infestation by ≥ 90% up to 87 DAT in both years, while pendimethalin at 1.7 kg ai ha−1 provided similar control up to 59 DAT in 1 of 2 yr. Turf thinning due to disease and insect damage in 1990 allowed more herbicide to reach the thatch, mat, and underlying soil in 1991. In both years, more pendimethalin but less dithiopyr was found in thatch 7 DAT than 1 DAT, suggesting greater pendimethalin retention in verdure and thatch. Precipitation was greater after herbicide application in the second year, and concentration in the mat layer reached a maximum by 7 DAT compared to 14 DAT in 1990. Maximum concentrations of dithiopyr and pendimethalin in soil at 0 to 5 cm deep were 20 and 56 μg kg−1, respectively, measured 7 DAT in 1991. Herbicide concentration 5 to 10 cm deep was ≤ 5 μg kg−1 at all sampling dates in 1990. In 1991, dithiopyr and pendimethalin concentrations 5 to 10 cm deep did not exceed 4 and 20 μg kg−1, respectively, measured within 1 DAT. Neither herbicide was detected 10 to 20 cm deep, nor in samples collected 30 cm outside of the experimental plots in either year. At 126 DAT (final sampling date), little herbicide was detected in verdure, but residues were found in most thatch and all mat samples. The estimated time for a 50% reduction in detectable residues (DT50) of dithiopyr and pendimethalin from the sampling zone was 35 and 23 days, respectively.

The absorption, translocation, and exudation of 14C-glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine], 14C-fosamine [ethyl hydrogen (aminocarbonyl)phosphonate] and 14C-amitrole (3-amino-s-triazole) in field horsetail (Equisetum arvense L.) were examined in glasshouse experiments. Amitrole was absorbed much more readily than either fosamine or glyphosate, and although the initial translocation of amitrole was faster, eventually more 14C was recovered from the underground parts of plants treated with 14C-glyphosate and fosamine. Radioactivity from all three compounds was translocated to areas of meristematic activity such as shoot and rhizome apices and rhizome nodes. The amounts of radioactivity recovered from the roots and rhizomes were small in relation to the amounts applied. Root exudation and guttation could account for some loss of herbicide from the plant. Radioactivity from 14C-amitrole, in particular, was present in relatively large amounts in guttation fluid.

The applicability of fluorescence measurements for the detection of herbicide effects in whole leaves was analyzed. Based on the results known for isolated chloroplasts, normalized variable fluorescence of the initial rise was shown to be an appropriate tool for monitoring effects of photosystem II (PS II) herbicides. Equipment is described for monitoring the degree of inhibition by fluorescence induction measurements and microcomputer data analysis. The method is used to study the effect of pyrazon [5-amino-4-chloro-2-phenyl-3(2H)-pyridazinone], BAY DRW 1139 [4-amino-3-methyl-6-phenyl-1,2,4-triazin-5(4H)-one], and phenmedipham {3-[(methoxycarbonyl)amino] phenyl (3-methyl-phenyl)carbamate} after foliar application to different species. A rapid decrease of normalized variable fluorescence indicates penetration into leaf cells of all species tested. During a 5- to 7-day experiment, the apparent variable fluorescence decreased continuously in herbicide-susceptible plants, while it recovered in resistant plants due to an internal detoxification mechanism. The described method provides a rapid, simple, and nondestructive tool for analyzing the kinetics of penetration and detoxification of PS II herbicides in whole leaves.

Roots of dandelion were exhumed from the soil monthly from 1997 to 1999 near Scottsbluff, NE, to assess the seasonal changes in total sugars, glucose, fructose, sucrose, and fructans. In the spring, the initiation of plant growth was accompanied by increased fructose and, to a lesser degree, glucose as a percentage of total sugars. During June, July, and August, the percentage of total sugars with a middle to high degree of polymerization (DP) fructans increased. The DP in fructans changed with reduced rainfall and was associated with increased fructose and decreased high-DP fructans as a percentage of total sugars. Decreasing or freezing soil temperatures in the fall were associated with increased fructose and decreased high-DP fructans as a percentage of total sugars. When soil froze in December, the percentage of total sugars as sucrose and low-DP fructans increased and mid- to high-DP fructans decreased. The seasonal fluctuations of glucose, fructose, sucrose, and various fructan polymers may be one mechanism that allows dandelion to adapt to environmental stresses and gain a competitive advantage over other plants in the community. An understanding of these seasonal fluctuations in sugars may also allow better timing of biological, mechanical, and chemical control practices for improved plant management.

Numerous workers have reported the presence of growth and germination inhibitors in various plants. In some cases the active principles have been isolated and characterized. It has been further found that some of these inhibitors have a role in the interaction of species. Thus, the compound, 3 acetyl–6–methoxybenzaldehyde, is leached from the leaves of Encelia farinosa and suppresses the establishment of other species in the immediate vicinity of the parent plant.

Managing agricultural pests with an incomplete understanding of the impacts that tactics have on crops, pests, and other organisms poses risks for loss of short-term profits and longer-term negative impacts, such as evolved resistance and nontarget effects. This is especially relevant for the management of weeds that are viewed almost exclusively as major impediments to crop production. Seldom considered in weed management are the benefits weeds provide in agroecosystems, which should be considered for optimal decision-making. Integration of weed costs and benefits will become increasingly important as management for pests transitions away from nearly complete reliance on herbicides and transgenic crop traits as the predominant approach for control. Here, we introduce a weed-management decision framework that accounts for weed benefits and exemplify how in-crop weed occurrence can increase crop yields in which a highly damaging insect also occurs. We highlight a case study showing how management decision-making for common milkweed, which is currently controlled primarily with glyphosate in herbicide-tolerant corn, can be improved by integrating management of the European corn borer (ECB), which is currently controlled primarily by the transgenic toxin Cry1 in Bacillus thuringiensis corn. Our data reveal that milkweed plants harboring aphids provide a food source (honeydew) for parasitoid wasps, which attack ECB eggs. Especially at high ECB population densities (> 1 egg mass leaf–1), maintaining low milkweed densities (< 1 stem m–2), effectively helps to minimize yield losses from ECB and to increase the economic injury level of this aggressive perennial weed. In addition, milkweed is the host for the monarch butterfly, so breeding-ground occurrences of the plant, including crop fields, may help sustain populations of this iconic insect. Using a more-holistic approach to integrate the management of multiple crop pests has the capacity to improve decision-making at the field scale, which can improve outcomes at the landscape scale.

The effects of herbicides on in vivo nitrate and nitrite reduction were determined by vacuum infiltrating sections of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) or bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) leaves with solutions containing nitrate and herbicides. Herbicides causing a reduction of nitrite accumulation in the dark were considered to have inhibitory effects upon nitrate reduction and those causing an accumulation of nitrite in the light were considered to inhibit nitrite reduction. Only dinoseb (2-sec-butyl-4,6-dinitrophenol) and potassium azide significantly reduced nitrate reduction in both barley and bean. All of the herbicides which inhibit photosynthesis inhibited nitrite reduction but had no significant effect on nitrate reduction in barley and bean. Nitrite reduction in an atrazine [2-chloro-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine] resistant pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.) biotype was not affected by any triazine tested. However, these triazines significantly inhibited nitrite reduction in barley, bean, and the susceptible pigweed biotype. The results suggest that the in vivo nitrate reductase technique may be a useful technique for identifying chemicals which inhibit the flow of electrons to ferredoxin, thereby inhibiting nitrite reduction in light.

Common cocklebur (Xanthium pensylvanicum Wallr.) root tissue was used to investigate the mechanism of action of glyphosate [N - (phosphonomethyl)glycine]. Arrival of glyphosate in the root-tip was followed closely by a rise in ATP levels to 136% of control levels by 2 h after treatment. Incorporation, but not uptake, of 14C-leucine was significantly decreased within 2 h after treatment. Incorporation declined steadily over a 32 -h time course. Uptake of 33P by the roots was temporarily stimulated by glyphosate, and as a percent of the total 33P taken up, there was decreased incorporation into RNA and DNA fractions by 8 h. Our results indicate that glyphosate may cause the rapid rise in ATP level primarily by inhibiting protein synthesis.

Management of herbicide resistance can be most effectively accomplished if every person and organization involved in agricultural production takes an ownership position and participates in solving the growing problem of weed resistance to herbicides. Growers and other pest management practitioners are keys to effective herbicide resistance management since they make the final decisions on practices used. However, many other people and organizations have an important role to play as well. Agricultural input supply networks, including chemical companies, are a widely used information source for growers' decisions through company marketing efforts. Government agencies may influence decisions through regulations or incentive programs. University scientists through their research, education, and outreach programs may impact management decisions, and organizations such as professional societies, farm and commodity groups, public interest organizations, and the agricultural press play roles as well. It is critically important that all of these groups impacting herbicide resistance management decisions are sending the same message and that message is based on sound science. The time to act is now.

The wild oat (Avena fatua L.) is considered to have spread originally from Asia; it is widely distributed throughout Europe and its advent in North America is attributed to introduction by immigrants from there (8, 13). The species presents a very serious weed problem in the prairie regions of Canada and northwestern United States (18). In Britain it has become prevalent in some regions as a result of intensive cropping to cereals (17). Up to 70 bushels of wild oat seeds per acre have been estimated to occur in the soil in badly infested fields in western Canada (12). This seed cannot all be stimulated to germinate by cultural practices and may remain viable in the soil for at least 3 years (4). The wild oat problem would be solved if the seed in the soil could be destroyed. There are two ways to achieve this: firstly, by stimulating the dormant seed to germinate so that the plants can be killed by cultivation or, secondly, by killing the dormant seed through the addition of toxic materials. Up to the present, attempts to do either of these have been unsuccessful; thus, investigations to determine the factors involved in dormancy are of primary importance.

Herbicide dissipation was monitored in soils differing in herbicide use histories. Repeated annual applications over 5 yr enhanced biodegradation of butylate [S-ethyl bis(2-methylpropyl)carbamothioate] and EPTC (S-ethyl dipropylcarbamothioate) but not alachlor {2-chloro-N-(2,6-diethylphenyl)-N-(methoxymethyl)acetamide}, atrazine [6-chloro-N-ethyl-N′-(1-methylethyl)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine], cyanazine {2-[[(4-chloro-6-(ethylamino)-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl]amino]-2-methylpropanenitrile}, or metolachlor [2-chloro-N-(2-ethyl-6-methylphenyl)-N-(2-methoxy-1-methylethyl)acetamide]. Prior application of butylate or EPTC enhanced biodegradation of the other thiocarbamate herbicide but not alachlor, atrazine, cyanazine, or metolachlor. Prior application of alachlor, atrazine, cyanazine, metolachlor, or trifluralin [2,6-dinitro-N,N-dipropyl-4-(trifluoromethyl)benzenamine] did not enhance biodegradation of butylate or EPTC. Dissipation of EPTC applied with dietholate (O,O-diethyl-O-phenolphosphorothioate) was not enhanced by prior application of alachlor, atrazine, or trifluralin. Prior use of EPTC, EPTC + dietholate, butylate, or cycloate, respectively, enhanced biodegradation of EPTC in 100, 100, 71, and 50% of the experiments, of EPTC applied with dietholate in 57, 100, 60, and 33% of the experiments, of butylate in 33, 40, 100, and 20% of the experiments, and of cycloate in 0, 0, 17, and 0% of the experiments. Prior thiocarbamate herbicide applications usually did not enhance cycloate biodegradation, but soils from two locations without prior pesticide use histories rapidly degraded the herbicide. Storage of soil samples at 25 C for 6 or 12 months before application of EPTC and EPTC + dietholate resulted in less herbicide degradation than storage at 15 C. Differences in prior environmental conditions such as temperature may explain why development of enhanced biodegradation varied between years even in the same field plots.

Resistance to fenoxaprop-P and other aryloxyphenoxypropionate and cyclohexanedione herbicides in the wild oat population, UM1, is controlled by a single, partially dominant, nuclear gene. In arriving at this conclusion, parents, F1 hybrids, and F2 plants derived from reciprocal crosses between UM1 and a susceptible wild oat line, UM5, were treated with fenoxaprop-P over a wide range of dosages. Based on these experiments, a dosage of 400 g ai ha−1 fenoxaprop-P was selected to discriminate between three response types. At this dosage, susceptible plants were killed and resistant plants were unaffected, whereas plants characterized as intermediate in response were injured but recovered. Treated F2 plants segregated in a 1:2:1 (R, I, S) ratio, indicative of single nuclear gene inheritance. This was confirmed by selfing F2 plants and screening several F3 families. Families derived from intermediate F2 plants segregated for the three characteristic response types, whereas those derived from resistant F2 plants were uniformly resistant. Chisquare analysis indicated the F2 segregation ratios fit those expected for a single partially dominant nuclear gene system. In addition, F2 populations from both crosses were screened with a mixture of fenoxaprop-Pand sethoxydim. The dosages of both herbicides (150 g ai ha−1 fenoxaprop-P and 100 g ha−1 sethoxydim) were sufficient to control only susceptible plants. Treated F2 populations segregated in a 3:1 (R:S) pattern, thereby confirming that resistance to the two chemically unrelated herbicides results from the same gene alteration.

The feasibility of herbicide and crop rotation for the control of johnsongrass [Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers.] in corn (Zea mays L.) was studied in field experiments. Light infestations of johnsongrass were initially present, but it became the predominant weed after 4 yr of continuous corn treated with atrazine [2-chloro-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamine)-s-triazine], cyanazine {2-[[4-chloro-6-(ethylamino)-s-triazin-2-yl]amino]-2-methylpropionitrile}, and linuron [3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1-methoxy-1-methylurea], alone and in combinations at rates of 2.24, 2.24, and 0.84 kg/ha, respectively. The infestation of johnsongrass was effectively controlled by growing corn in rotation with cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in a cropping sequence of corn-cotton-cotton-corn, in which trifluralin (α,α,α-trifluoro-2,6-dinitro-N,N-dipropyl-p-toluidine), fluometuron [1,1-dimethyl-3-(α,α,α-trifluoro-m-tolyl)urea] and MSMA (monosodium methanearsonate) at 0.56, 2.24, and 2.24 kg/ha respectively, were used for weed control in cotton. In the corn-cotton-cotton-corn cropping sequence, the herbicide treatments also prevented increases in the populations of other indigeneous weeds including prickly sida (Sida spinosa L.), prostrate spurge (Euphorbia supina Raf.), spotted spurge (Euphorbia maculata L.), common purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.), tall morningglory [Ipomoea purpurea (L.) Roth], common cocklebur (Xanthium pensylvanicum Wallr.), spurred anoda [Anoda cristata (L.) Schlecht.], hemp sesbania [Sesbania exaltata (Raf.) Cory], redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.), goosegrass [Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn.], junglerice [Echinochloa colonum (L.) Link], large crabgrass [Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop.], and purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus L.).

The allelopathic potential of a plant has been evaluated on the basis of two indicators: specific activity, which is the specific concentration of the allelochemical to exert a half-maximum effect on a receiver plant (EC50), and total activity in a plant, which is the ratio of the concentration of an allelochemical in the producing plant to its EC50. In the present study, a new indicator, total activity in a soil, which takes into account the effects of a soil on the allelopathy activity, is proposed because allelopathic activity is affected by the presence of soils. The total activity in a soil was calculated by multiplying the “total activity in a plant” with a “soil factor.” In this calculation, we assumed simplified cases for comparison, such that the allelopathic plant materials are evenly incorporated in the soils and the allelochemicals are released from the plant materials to the soils at a constant rate. We conducted bioassay experiments in the presence and absence of soils and cited some published data to calculate the specific activities and total activities in a plant and in a soil. The results indicated that the allelopathies of buckwheat caused by (+)-catechin, Leucaena leucocephala by L-mimosine, Xanthium occidentale by trans-cinnamic acid, and Brassica parachinensis by cis-cinnamic acid were not significant in a volcanic ash soil, an alluvial soil, and a calcareous soil, but the allelopathy of sweet vernalgrass caused by coumarin and Spiraea thunbergii by cis-cinnamoyl glucosides was highly effective in those soils. The allelopathies of Juglans species caused by juglone plus juglone precursors and Mucuna pruriens by L-DOPA would depend highly on the soil types. Although some limitations exist for this approach, the total activity approach would allow for a better quantitative estimation of the allelopathic potential of plant materials in soils.