Allelopathic Assesments of Ficus deltoidea Jack Varieties and Ficus microcarpa L.f. (Moraceae) on Lactuca sativa L. Seed

Abstract

This study described allelopathic potential of two medicinal plant species, Ficus deltoidea varieties in comparison with Ficus microcarpa, by using testing the leaf-litter leachate through sandwich method and the leaf extracts through methanolic extraction method, with three replications for each donor species by using the complete randomized design (CRD). The sandwich method was carried out by using 5 mg, 10 mg and 50 mg dry weight of the donor plants leaf. Among the eight donor plant tested, results showed that var. kunstleri had the highest growth inhibition on lettuce radicle elongation (57.51%) as compared to control, followed by var. trengganuensis (45.50%) and Ficus microcarpa (39.95%), respectively. Meanwhile, the methanolic extraction was done by using different concentrations of leaf extract (0.1 ppm, 1 ppm, 10 ppm and 100 ppm). In the methanolic extraction bioassay, the var. kunstleri and var. trengganuensis that have the highest inhibition on lettuce growth were further selected to be tested by using this method and was observed to have a high inhibition on lettuce radicle elongation at 66.63% and 64.95%, respectively, as the concentration increases. Further studies can be conducted on the identification and isolation of allelochemical by using this finding as the background information towards the development of bioactive compound as natural botanical herbicide for weed management.