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Signal, Not Poison—Screening Mint Essential Oils for Weed Control Leads to Horsemint

Author

Listed:
  • Mohammed Sarheed

    (Botanical Institute, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany)

  • Hans-Jakob Schärer

    (Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), 60441 Frankfurt am Main, Germany)

  • Qiyan Wang-Müller

    (Swiss Chinese Herbal Medicine and Functional Food Innovation Center, 8046 Zurich, Switzerland)

  • Pascale Flury

    (Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), 60441 Frankfurt am Main, Germany)

  • Chloé Maes

    (Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium)

  • Manon Genva

    (Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium)

  • Marie-Laure Fauconnier

    (Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium)

  • Peter Nick

    (Botanical Institute, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany)

Abstract

Weed control tries to suppress competitors for a crop and often relies on differential intoxication, making use of differences in uptake, development, or metabolism. We explored the possibility of using natural signals to shift competition in favour of the crop. Using the competitive horsemint ( Mentha longifolia ) as a paradigm, we showed that essential oils from certain mint species suppress the seedling development of different target species in a specific and efficient manner. The specificity concerned both the donor and the receptor. We demonstrated further that the effect of horsemint oil was specific for actin filaments, and not for microtubules. Since the elimination of actin will impair auxin transport, which is essential for root regeneration in vegetatively propagating weeds, we tested the efficacy of horsemint essential oil in combination with a slow-release carrier against field bindweed ( Convolvulus arvensis ), a pertinent weed in organic cereal production. We observed that the development of this weed can be specifically blocked, especially if the carrier is worked into the soil. We propose that allelopathic interactions, often relying on manipulative chemical signalling, harbour significant potential for organic weed control.

Suggested Citation

  • Mohammed Sarheed & Hans-Jakob Schärer & Qiyan Wang-Müller & Pascale Flury & Chloé Maes & Manon Genva & Marie-Laure Fauconnier & Peter Nick, 2023. "Signal, Not Poison—Screening Mint Essential Oils for Weed Control Leads to Horsemint," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-15, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:3:p:712-:d:1101288
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Laurens Pauwels & Gemma Fernández Barbero & Jan Geerinck & Sofie Tilleman & Wim Grunewald & Amparo Cuéllar Pérez & José Manuel Chico & Robin Vanden Bossche & Jared Sewell & Eduardo Gil & Gloria García, 2010. "NINJA connects the co-repressor TOPLESS to jasmonate signalling," Nature, Nature, vol. 464(7289), pages 788-791, April.
    2. Richard G. Anthony & Teresa R. Waldin & John A. Ray & Simon W. J. Bright & Patrick J. Hussey, 1998. "Herbicide resistance caused by spontaneous mutation of the cytoskeletal protein tubulin," Nature, Nature, vol. 393(6682), pages 260-263, May.
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