Biologically active secondary metabolites of barley. I. Developing techniques and assessing allelopathy in barley.

Allelopathic effects of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) on white mustard (Sinapis alba L.) were assessed using modified bioassays that reduced other environmental influences. In a Petri dish bioassay, germination of white mustard was delayed and the radicle lengths were significantly inhibited at a density of 0.5 barley seed/cm(2). In a 'siphoning' bioassay apparatus, when the two species were sown together, radicle elongation of white mustard was not inhibited one day after sowing but became increasingly inhibited as bioassay time increased. Barley allelochemicals were released from the roots in a hydroponic system for at least 70 days after commencement of barley germination. Solutions removed from the hydroponic system of growing barley delayed germination and inhibited growth of white mustard. The allelopathic activity of barley was further confirmed at a density of 0.3 barley seed/cm(2) in a modified stairstep apparatus.