Allelopathic effect of \u3cem\u3eAcer palmatum\u3c/em\u3e, \u3cem\u3ePinus taeda,\u3c/em\u3e and \u3cem\u3eLonicera japonica\u3c/em\u3e on \u3cem\u3eZea mays \u3c/em\u3eand\u3cem\u3e Glycine max\u3c/em\u3e germination

Chemical competition through allelopathy between plants poses an adverse threat to crop production and species’ diversity. The purpose of this study was to determine the allelopathic effect of Pinus taeda (Loblolly Pine), Lonicera japonica (Japanese Honeysuckle), and Acer palmatum (Japanese maple) on Glycine max (soybeans) and Zea mays (corn). It was hypothesized that A. palmatum, P. taeda, and L. japonica would have had a negative allelopathic effect on corn and soybeans. It is likely that L. japonica and A. palmatum would have had more of an effect because both are invasive plants and P. taeda is not. The extracts of the leaves, litter, and roots of all three plants were created by crushing the plant matter and then boiling it in distilled water for 15 minutes. The seeds of G. max and Z. mays were exposed to the extracts and left to germinate in an incubator for 4 days. The amount of germinated seeds were observed, recorded, and percentages calculated. Twelve pairwise Chi-Square tests were performed to determine whether germination of the seeds was dependent on treatment. It was found that the only experimental group to have been significantly affected was the leaf extract of L. japonica on G. max. This suggests that L. japonica had an allelopathic effect on G. max and contains allelochemicals in its leaves. The other two plants did not show any significant effect on either G. max or Z. mays