Essential Oils of Three Aromatic Plant Species as Natural Herbicides for Environmentally Friendly Agriculture

Manel Bellache, Natalia Torres-Pagan, Mercedes Verdeguer, Leila Allal Benfekih, Oscar Vicente, Radu E. Sestras, Adriana F. Sestras and Monica Boscaiu
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Manel Bellache: Mediterranean Agroforestry Institute, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Natalia Torres-Pagan: Mediterranean Agroforestry Institute, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Mercedes Verdeguer: Mediterranean Agroforestry Institute, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Leila Allal Benfekih: Laboratory for Research on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Department of Biotechnology and Agroecology, Faculty of Nature and Life Sciences, Université of Blida 1, Route de Soumaa, Blida 09000, Algeria
Oscar Vicente: Institute for the Conservation and Improvement of Valencian Agrodiversity, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Radu E. Sestras: Faculty of Horticulture, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Adriana F. Sestras: Faculty of Horticulture, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Monica Boscaiu: Mediterranean Agroforestry Institute, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 6, 1-22

Abstract: Natural herbicides based on essential oils (EOs) extracted from aromatic plants are gaining relevance in contemporary agriculture. Due to their allelopathic properties, they have an inhibitory effect on the germination and growth of different species, having, in general, the advantage of high specificity. For this reason, the analysis of the effects of these natural compounds on noxious weeds is continuously increasing. In the present study, three commercial EOs extracted from Mentha piperita L., Thymbra capitata (L.) Cav. and Santolina chamaecyparissus L. were tested on two invasive weeds with an increasing presence in southern Europe, Erigeron bonariensis L. and Araujia sericifera Brot. Five concentrations (0.125, 0.25, 0.50, 1 and 2 µL mL –1 ) were tested in a randomized manner for each essential oil and five replicates with 20 seeds each for E. bonariensis and 10 replicates with 10 seeds each for A. sericifera . Two higher concentrations of 4 and 8 μL mL –1 of the three EOs were applied with irrigation on the plants of the two species at the vegetative growth stage. The number of replicas for each treatment and species was 7. The results obtained confirmed the significant inhibitory effects on seed germination and early seedling development, especially in E. bonariensis ; of the three EOs, peppermint had the strongest effect, completely preventing germination in both species. Multivariate analysis, performed on several morphological traits scored after one month of treatment in young plants, showed a different pattern: the highest inhibition was recorded in A. sericifera and the greatest reduction in growth in the treatment with the highest dose of Santolina EO. The results obtained revealed the efficacy of these natural compounds and the specificity of their toxicity according to the species and stage of development.

Keywords: Mentha piperita; Thymbra capitata; Santolina chamaecyparissus; invasive weeds; Araujia sericifera; Erigeron bonariensis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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