Competitive cereal cultivars are less susceptible than others to weed interference. Their characterization may provide selection criteria that can be used as guidelines to develop new, even more competitive cultivars. Root exudates are a potential means by which competitive cultivars reduce weed growth. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of cereal root exudates on Brassica kaber (DC.) L. C. Wheeler growth, to isolate and characterize the allelochemical compounds released by spring cereal cultivars, and to determine if a relation exists between these allelochemicals and cultivar competitiveness. Highly competitive (HC) and lesser competitive (LC) cultivars of four crop kinds (Triticum aestivum L. [wheat], Avena sativa L. [wild oat], two- and six-rowed Hordeum vulgare L. [barley]) were selected based on previous work. Exudates from undisturbed root systems of B. kaber and cereals were collected and used in a bioassay test with B. kaber. Root exudates were analyzed for 16 common phenolic compounds using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Bioassays indicated that cereal exudates had no negative effect on B. kaber germination, but all concentrations of cereal root exudates inhibited B. kaber root and hypocotyl growth. As cereal root exudate concentration increased, B. kaber growth decreased. For each crop kind, B. kaber growth inhibition was greater with HC cultivars than with LC cultivars. The root exudates of all crop kinds and cultivars contained benzoic, caffeic, ferulic, o-coumaric, and vanillic acids as well as scopoletin. Para-hydroxybenzoic acid was found in exudates from T. aestivum, A. sativa, and two-rowed H. vulgare cultivars. Para-coumaric acid was not identified in root exudates from LC H. vulgare cultivars. Gentisic acid was produced by A. sativa and H. vulgare. Vanillic and o-coumaric acids along with scopoletin may be responsible for the allelopathic effects of H. vulgare, T. aestivum, and A. sativa cultivars. These three compounds may be useful as possible indicators of allelopathic potential of genotypes under development and thus considered for use in breeding programs.
