Allelopathy

Allelopathy is the influence of one plant on another through chemicals released into the environment. These chemicals can affect seed germination, growth, survival, or reproduction.

Allelochemical: A chemical released by an organism that affects another organism’s growth, survival, or reproduction. These compounds carry the effects attributed to allelopathy.
Cover crop: A crop grown primarily to protect or improve soil rather than to be harvested. Some cover crops suppress weeds partly through chemicals released from living roots or residues.
Juglone: A naphthoquinone produced by walnut trees and several related plants. It is the best-known chemical associated with black walnut’s effects on neighboring vegetation.
Plant–soil feedback: A process in which plants alter soil conditions that later affect plant growth and community composition. Allelochemicals can contribute, but do not account for every effect of a plant on later vegetation.
Plant competition: The interaction in which plants reduce one another’s access to resources or opportunities for growth. Allelopathy is a chemical form of interference within the broader study of plant competition.
Root exudate: A mixture of substances released by plant roots into the surrounding soil. Root exudates can deliver allelochemicals directly into the soil around neighboring roots.
Black walnut: A North American tree whose tissues and roots contain the naphthoquinone juglone. Its chemical effects on nearby plants are a widely studied case of allelopathy.
Sorgoleone: A hydrophobic benzoquinone produced by root hairs of sorghum. It can inhibit photosynthetic electron transport and is studied as a natural herbicidal compound.
Resource competition: The struggle among organisms for limited resources such as light, water, nutrients, or space. Reduced growth near a plant may result from resource depletion rather than chemical interference.
Interference competition: Competition in which an organism directly restricts another’s access to resources or space. Chemical release is one possible means of interference, distinct from simply using up resources.

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