Lichen Allelopathy: An Agricultural Prospect

Allelopathy is a common biological miracle by which one organism produces biochemicals that affect the growth, existence, development, and reproduction of other organisms. These biochemicals are known as allelochemicals and have advantageous, as well as, harmful effects on target organisms. Lichens produce over a thousand different extracellular biochemical terms as secondary metabolites. The lichen secondary metabolites may show either positive effects, such as, in weed control, crop protection, or crop re-establishment or negative effects, e.g., autotoxicity, biological invasion, competition, deterioration, and eutrophic soil sickness. However, several lichen secondary metabolites can potentially be used as growth regulators, insecticidal, and antimicrobial since dated back. Here, we discuss the application of lichen allelopathy in various agricultural prospects in the near future.