Investigation of the allelopathic effect of two medicinal plant in agroforestry system

In order to enhance the sustainable development of the agroforestry system, this work explored the allelopathic effects between two medicinal plants. Siraitia grosvenorii was selected as the recipient plant and investigated the allelopathic effects of different concentrations of fig tree (Ficus carica L.) stem aqueous extracts on seed germination, seedling growth, and physiological indicators of S. grosvenorii through simulated rainfall and fogging pathways, exploring whether the two medicinal plants are suitable for integrated planting management. It found that the low concentration of fig tree stem (Ficus carica L.) stem aqueous extracts (5.0-10.0 g/L) not only promoted the seed of another medicinal plant S. grosvenorii, but also significantly improved its biomass and photosynthetic parameters. However, with the increase of the concentration of fig tree stem aqueous extracts (15.0-25.0 g/L), the activities of superoxide dismutase and peroxidase of S. grosvenorii first increased and then decreased, and the content of malondialdehyde increased. The synthetic allelopathy index of S. grosvenorii showed a pattern of first increase and then inhibition. It indicated that there is a certain allelopathic relationship between the two medicinal plants, making them suitable for intercropping in the agroforestry system.