This is the first comprehensive and up-to-date reference on the science, mechanism, methodology, and application of allelopathy. The objective of this practical reference is to report on the latest advances by inviting leading scientists to contribute in specific fields. The volume is organized under three major subsections: History of allelopathy, Allelochemicals, allelopathic mechanisms, and bioassays, and Application of allelopathy in agriculture and forestry.

The rapidly growing human population has increased the dependence on fossil fuel based agrochemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides to produce the required agricultural and forestry products. This has exerted a great pressure on the non renewable fossil fuel resources, which cannot last indefinitely. Besides, indiscriminate use ofpesticides for pests (weeds, insects, nematodes, pathogens) control has resulted in serious ecological and environmental problems viz. , (A) Increasing incidence of resistance in pest organisms to important pesticides. (B) Shift in pests population, particulary in weeds and insects. In weeds, species that are more closely related to the crops they infest have developed. In insects, scenario is most grim, the predators have been killed and minor insect pests have become major pests and require very heavy doses ofhighly toxic insecticides for their control. (C) Greater environmental pollution and health hazards (a) particularly from contamination of surface and underground drinking water resources and (b) from their inhalation during handling and application. (D) Toxic residues of pesticides pollute the environment and may prove hazardous to even our future generations. (E) Some agricultural commodities may contain minute quantities ofpesticides residues, with long tenn adverse effects on human and livestock health. Therefore, serious ecological questions about the reliance on pesticides for pests control has been raised. The use of fertilizers, besides causing environmental problems has also impoverished the soil health and decreased the beneficial soil fauna. For example, in some major crop rotations viz.

The rapidly growing human population has increased the dependence on fossil fuel based agrochemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides to produce the required agricultural and forestry products. This has exerted a great pressure on the non renewable fossil fuel resources, which cannot last indefinitely. Besides, indiscriminate use ofpesticides for pests (weeds, insects, nematodes, pathogens) control has resulted in serious ecological and environmental problems viz. , (A) Increasing incidence of resistance in pest organisms to important pesticides. (B) Shift in pests population, particulary in weeds and insects. In weeds, species that are more closely related to the crops they infest have developed. In insects, scenario is most grim, the predators have been killed and minor insect pests have become major pests and require very heavy doses ofhighly toxic insecticides for their control. (C) Greater environmental pollution and health hazards (a) particularly from contamination of surface and underground drinking water resources and (b) from their inhalation during handling and application. (D) Toxic residues of pesticides pollute the environment and may prove hazardous to even our future generations. (E) Some agricultural commodities may contain minute quantities ofpesticides residues, with long tenn adverse effects on human and livestock health. Therefore, serious ecological questions about the reliance on pesticides for pests control has been raised. The use of fertilizers, besides causing environmental problems has also impoverished the soil health and decreased the beneficial soil fauna. For example, in some major crop rotations viz.

Reports on the nature of allelochemicals, the natural defense mechanisms of plants. Looks at the mechanisms and rates of allelochemical emissions from the aggressive plant, their fate in the soil and their uptake, and translocation and mode of action within the receptive plant. Examines the allelopathic phenomenon in sections covering plant-plant and plant-soil-plant interactions; plant-insect interaction; and plant-microbial and plant-animal interactions. Contains significant new ideas for maintaining and increasing forest and agricultural production in the future.

Allelopathy studies the various aspects of allelopathy, the direct or indirect harmful effect by one plant (including microorganisms) on another through the production of chemical compounds that escape into the environment. Chapters presents discussions on topics on the history of research on allelopathy; roles of allelopathy in phytoplankton succession; evidence for chemical inhibition of nitrification by vegetation; roles of allelopathy in fire cycle in California annual grasslands; and the impact of allelopathy on horticulture and forestry. Botanists, horticulturists, biologists, and agriculturists will find the book a good reference book.

This book provides the reader relevant information about actual knowledge about the process of allelopathy, covering all aspects from the molecular to the ecological level. Special relevance is given to the physiological and ecophysiological aspects of allelopathy. Several ecosystems are studied and methodological considerations are taken into account in several different chapters. The book has been written to be useful both for Ph.D. students and for senior researchers, so the chapters include all necessary information to be read by beginners, but they also include a lot of useful information and discussion for the initiated.