Allelopathic influence of water extracts from the leaves of selected lawn grass species and cultivars on their initial growth

In the studies conducted, an attempt was made to demonstrate the differences in the growth inhibition of test species seedlings under conditions of exposure to water extracts from the leaves of the lawn cultivars of Festuca rubra, Festuca ovina, Lolium perenne and Poa pratensis. Biotests were performed on Petri dishes in laboratory conditions. The extent to which seedling height and root length was inhibited in comparison to control objects (sprayed with distilled water) was used as an indicator of the presence and activity of allelopathic substances in extracts from leaves. The negative or positive effect of allelopathic substances depended on the species and cultivar of the donor, and the species of the test plant, i.e. the acceptor. Among the grass species studied, the strongest negative impact was exerted by water extracts from the leaves of L. perenne