Full Length Research Paper

Allelopathic potential of macrofungi on germinating maize (Zea mays L.) grain

Yusuf Uzun¹*, Musa Türker¹, Abdullah Kaya², Kenan Demirel¹, Sinan Işler³ and Ali Keleş³

¹Yüzüncü Yil University, Science and Art Faculty, Department of Biology, 65080, Van, Turkey.

²Adiyaman University, Education Faculty, Department of Elementary Education, 02040, Adiyaman, Turkey.

³Yüzüncü Yil University, Education Faculty, Department of Biology Education, 65080, Van, Turkey.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: yusufuzun2004@yahoo.com. Tel: +90.432.2251024 or +90.505.9380275. Fax: +90.432. 2251188.

Abbreviations: HPLC, High performance liquid chromatography; MF, macrofungi; MFE, macrofungi extracts; LA, linoleic acid; OA, oleic acid; ANOVA, analysis of variance.

Accepted 14 January, 2010

   Abstract

The effect of methanol extracts of 10 macrofungi was evaluated on grain germination of maize (Zea mays L.). Germination percentage, radicle and plumule length and the level of carbohydrates and fatty acids were measured. Fungal metabolites inhibited germination up to 90.96%, plumule (97.77%) and radicle (92.83%) development. Plumule and radicle lengths were stimulated 35.26 and 10.60% in some assays, respectively. The fungal metabolites decreased the glucose (97.60%), sucrose (90.34%), fructose (96.85%), maltose (95.64%), oleic acid (97.50%) and linoleic acid (98.25%) levels, whereas increasing levels of the glucose (165.14%), sucrose (166.53%), fructose (83.18%), maltose (124.73%), oleic acid (6975.00%) and linoleic acid (5233.33%) were detected in some assays. It is concluded that macrofungi metabolites have commonly inhibitory effects on physiological and morphological processes of germinating maize grain except for considerable increases in the some parameters investigated.

Key words: Allelopathy, carbohydrate, fatty acid, fungal metabolites, germination, maize.