An allelopathic evaluation of aqueous Aloe vera leaf and root extracts on the weed Sonchus oleraceus associated Vicia faba L.

This study aimed to evaluate the bioherbicidal effect of aqueous fresh extracts of leaves and roots of the Aloe vera plant on the broad leaf weed growth of Sonchus oleraceus associated faba bean plants. During the winters of 2020/2021 and 2021/2022, two pot experiments were carried out in the greenhouse of the National Research Center. Leaf and root aqueous extracts of Aloe vera were applied as soil and/or spray treatments at different concentrations. The results showed that there was significant inhibition in the fresh and dry biomass of S. oleraceus and was maximum with application of soil treatment (10%) of the leaf extract sequenced by spraying leaf extract at 20%. Furthermore, the inhibition of the weed growth was accompanied by an increase in the growth and yield of faba bean. The results indicated that phenols, flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins and saponins were present in the leaf extract, and there were smaller amounts of tannins and saponins in the root extract than in the leaf extract. Total phenols, flavonoids, alkaloids in the leaf extract was more than three times that of the root extract. The results also revealed that the presence of higher concentrations of natural substances in the leaf extract than in the root extracts gave it its efficiency in inhibiting the growth of S. oleraceus weeds.