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Herbicide effects of essential oils

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Thomas Tworkoski
Thomas Tworkoski*
Affiliation:
Appalachian Fruit Research Station, USDA, ARS, 45 Wiltshire Road, Kearneysville, WV 25430; ttworkos@afrs.ars.usda.gov
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Abstract

Laboratory and greenhouse experiments were conducted to determine the herbicidal effect of plant-derived oils and to identify the active ingredient in an oil with herbicide activity. Twenty-five different oils were applied to detached leaves of dandelion in the laboratory. Essential oils (1%, v/v) from red thyme, summer savory, cinnamon, and clove were the most phytotoxic and caused electrolyte leakage resulting in cell death. Each of these essential oils in aqueous concentrations from 5 to 10% (v/v) plus two adjuvants (nonionic surfactant and paraffinic oil blend at 0.2% [v/v]) were applied to shoots of common lambsquarters, common ragweed, and johnsongrass in the greenhouse; shoot death occurred within 1 h to 1 d after application. Essential oil of cinnamon had high herbicidal activity, and eugenol (2-methoxy-4-[2-propenyl]phenol) was determined to be this oil's major component (84%, v/v). Dandelion leaf disk and whole-plant assays verified that eugenol was the active ingredient in the essential oil of cinnamon. Essential oils are extracted from plants and thus may be useful as “natural product herbicides” for organic farming systems.

Keywords

Cinnamon, Cinnamomum zeylanicumclove, Syzgium aromaticumred thyme, Thymus vulgarissummer savory, Satureja hortensiscommon lambsquarters, Chenopodium album L. CHEALcommon ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. AMBELdandelion, Taraxacum officinale Weber in Wiggers TAROFjohnsongrass, Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers. SORHAOrganic weed controlgenerally regarded as safe (GRAS)
Type
Research Article
Information
Weed Science , Volume 50 , Issue 4 , August 2002 , pp. 425 - 431
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

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