Allelopathic effect of Cannabis sativa L. essential oil on initial growth of Chenopodium album L.

Allelopathy is increasingly gaining importance due to the tendency to avoid the use of synthetic herbicides. Research is increasingly focused on the finding of plant compounds that have allelopathic properties to weed species. The aim the study is to examine the allelopathic potential of Cannabis sativa L. essential oil in relation to the initial growth of the weed species of Chenopodium album L. The essential oil was obtained by the process of distillation of dry plant material collected during the ripening phase. The concentrations of essential oil were 200, 400, 600 and 800ml/l, while distilled water was used in the control. The parameters that were studied were the length of the hypocotyl and the length of the epicotyl C. album L. All investigated concentrations of essential oil exhibited an inhibitory effect. The average length of hypocotyl C. album L. in control was 2.67cm while in the smallest concentration it was 1.9cm. The average length of epicotyl C. album L. in control was 2.7cm and in the lowest applied concentration of 1.67cm. Increasing concentrations of essential oil increased the inhibitory effect. The obtained results indicate that it is possible to use C. sativa L. essential oil as bioherbicides for the control of C. album L.