Vol. 15—1961 - NorthEastern Weed Science Society

348.
The' chrona tog ram."WaS first di~through a.,dried, dipped through
solution h, and again dried. Area 2 showed a very" strong sugar cencencra­
'bion, with area 7 exhibiting less concentration. Area 2 appeared to
contain numerous sugars , whereas area 7 appeared to be a single sugar •
.
A section of the paper was developed with sulphanillc reagent, a test
for "Ohenols. No phenoks were present in the areas of inhibition.
Discussion
Extracts of yellow foxtail plants, botn green and dry, inhibited seed
germination and gro,'1th of several crop species. The inhibitory activit:; of
the tops and roots were not significantly different •.
~ressure.
. The inhibition appears to be due to factors other than pH or oemotd.c
The fact that the inhibitor is heat stable \t:luld in:iicate that :it is not
proteinaceous in char~cter nor easily volatilized. Thus proteins and Vi:>latile
compounds are eliminated.
Loss of inhibition by as 11ing would eliminate such possibilities as
potassium or other mineral ions.
Sim e the molecule can be dialyzed a rel~tivelV' small molecular
weight is indicated.
, Its insolubility in the organic solvents suggests a polar comocurd ,
'Further, it is not easily ionized due to its free 'Ol ssage through mediumactivity
exchange resins.
Also eliminated is ammonia, as distill'ltion of a basic extract does
not cause loss of its inhibitory action.
Since the chloroform did not extract any inhibitor, the chloroform
soluble group known as alkaloids is probably disqualified.
The activated carbon failed to re~ve toe inhibitor, suggesting that
pigments are not resoonsible for the inhibition.
Paper l)!'l.rtition chromatozraphy suggests that carbohydrates are :involved
in the inhibition.
The above results indicate that inhibition is probably due to 'sugar
compounds,
Summary
Aqueous extracts of yelloW' foxtail were found to be inhibitory to the
gerrrlination and gro"lth 'of seeds of several crop plants. The genninatiol:1
and grovrth inhibitor produced by yello\-' foxtail ,-ras found to be T)resent in
equal amounts in both tops and roots of the foxtail plant. Further, no
significant difference in inhibitory activity of dry vs , green plant material