Allelopathy of the invasive plant Bidens frondosa on the seed germination of Geum japonicum var. Chinense

Abstract

Five gradient concentrations (0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08, and 0.10 g/mL) of leaching liquors from the roots, stems, and leaves of the invasive plant Bidens frondosa were used as conditioning fluid to examine its influence on seed germination conditions of the native plant Geum japonicum var. chinense in Huangshan. All leaching liquors of organs suppressed the seed germination of Geum japonicum var. chinense and reduced the final germination percentage and rate, and increased the germination inhibition rate, with a bimodal dependence on concentration. The leaching liquor inhibited the seed germination significantly at the concentration of 0.02 g/mL respectively. The seed germination was also inhibited as the concentration reached to 0.04 g/mL and beyond. Hence the allelopathic effects of the organs were significantly enhanced respectively. This phenomenon represented the presence of allelopathy substances in the root, stem and leaf of Bidens frondosa.