Effects of Methanol Extract of Pink Muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris) on Plant Growth

Minji Hong¹ Sela Bo¹ Hyejeong Jang¹ Nam-kyu Cho² Ki Hwan Hwang² Sowndhararajan Kandhasamy³ Sun hee Hong⁴ Yong Ho Lee⁴ Songmun Kim^4,*

¹School of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Korea
²Moghu Research Center Ltd., Daejeon 34115, Korea
³Department of Botany, Kongunadu Arts and Science College, Coimbatore-641029, Tamil Nadu, India
⁴Department of Application and Environment, Hankyong National University, Anseong-si, 17579, Korea

Abstract

Pink Muhly is planted and managed for ornamental purposes by many local governments in Korea across the country. However, it could affect the domestic ecosystem at any time and compete with native plants due to its exotic nature. The objective of this study was to understand whether pink muhly affects the growth of plants. We obtained the methanol extract from a fully grown pink muhly plant and executed an in vitro seed bioassay followed by soil treatment and foliage treatment experiments under greenhouse conditions. The growth retardation (GR) 50 values, at which plant growth is inhibited by 50%, of methanol extract against root length and weight were 4,147 and 4,997 μg mL^-1, respectively. The results suggest that Pink Muhly may possess allelopathic potential. Application of the Pink Muhly extract (10 kg ha^-1) on the soil in which ten plants were planted, did not show any adverse effect. Further, the application of the Pink Muhly extract (10 kg ha^-1) to the foliage did not show any damage and inhibition of growth. Overall results show that although the exotic plant Pink Muhly showed an allelopathic effect, it might not inhibit the growth of other plants.

Figures & Tables

Fig. 1. Sampling site of Pink Muhly plant (). The site is located at Nara Agriculture Farm, Yangju, Gyunggi-do. The fully matured plant sample was collected in October, 2019.