ALLELOPATHIC EFFECT OF Cucumis melo SUB-SPECIES agrestis VARIETY agrestis ON WHEAT

Cucumis melo subsp. agrestis var. agrestis (family Cucurbitaceae) is a creeping weed of cultivated fields in Pakistan. The experiment was carried in pots to assess the allelopathic potential of different concentrations (i.e. 0%, 25%, 50% and 75%) of stem, leaves, roots, fruit and seeds of Cucumis melo subsp. agrestis var. agrestis against wheat. 10g of powder material prepared from each part of the plant was separately dissolved in 100 ml of distilled water and after 48 hrs the solutions were filtered and aqueous extracts of different concentrations (i.e. 0%, 25%, 50% and 75%) were obtained for each part. These extracts were then applied to different pots separately and each pot contained 10 seeds of wheat. Results indicated that extracts of different plant parts showed non-significant results on No. of leaves plant^-1, No. of grains spike^-1, 1000 grain weight and moisture content while plant height, length of spike plant^-1 and fresh and dry weight of test species were significantly affected. Roots extract reduced the plant height, stem extract inhibited the length of spike plant^-1, stem and roots extracts decreased the fresh weight and leaves extract suppressed the dry weight of test species. Increase in concentrations, increased the No. of grains spike^-1, fresh weight and dry weight while decreased the 1000 grains weight and moisture content of test species. It is concluded that the various assayed parts of Cucumis melo subsp. agrestis var. agrestis have strong allelopathic potential at least against the tested species. Further explanation is needed to see its allelopathic potential under field conditions against its associated grasses and forbs and to identify the toxic chemicals.