EFFECT OF ACACIA <em>XANTHOPHLOEA</em> LEACHATES ON SEED GERMINATION OF SOME AGRICULTURAL AND MULTIPURPOSE TREE CROPS

Abstract

Laboratory and nursery studies were carried out to determine the effect of water leachates of Acacia xanthophloea on the germination of some agricultural and leguminous tree crops to determine compatibility for intercropping in agroforestry systems. Leachates from leaves, bark and litter were applied on seeds of Zea mays (maize), Eleusine coracana (finger millet), Vigna radiata (green gram), Albizia lebbeck , Leucaena leucocephala. and Acacia xanthophloea. The germination of the agricultural crops and of two tree species, Albizia lebbeck and Acacia xanthophloea, was not inhibited by the leachates both in the laboratory and nursery. However, the germination of L. leucocephala was significantly inhibited by the bark and litter leachates in the laboratory, but not in sand culture in the nursery. The inhibition effect of the leachates on root and shoot elongation for all the test species was also not significant. From this study it appears unlikely that Acacia xanthophloea produces potentially allelopathic substances and hence it is suggested that A. xanthophloea could be successfully intercropped in agroforestry systems with a diverse range of agricultural and tree species in well drained and aerated soils.