ALLELOPATHIC POTENTIAL OF RED-PEPPER (CAPSICUM-ANNUUM-L)

The yield of red pepper has been decreasing due to continuous cropping in Korea. Although this decline had been mainly attributed to the occ urrence of diseases, it was suggested that allelopathy may account for the decline. The growth inhibition of red pepper was assayed by a ger mination test using water or organic solvent extracts of leaf, stem, r oot and cultivated soil. In addition, the allelopathy of red pepper fr om other sources of competition was analyzed by using continuous root exudate trapping system. Methanol ''tracts of stem and root of red pep per strongly inhibited the radicle growth of red pepper. Methanol extr acts of leaf and root and water extract of root inhibited the hypocoty l growth. The methanol and water extracts of red pepper root contained several phenolic acids such as p-hydroxybenzoic acid and vanillic aci d. In the absence of an XAD-4 resin column, the growth of red pepper w as inhibited by the root exudate as compared with the presence of the column. In addition, this exudate inhibited the germination of red pep per, and it showed a characteristic absorption peak as in the case of the methanol extract of cultivated soil at 254 nm. It was assumed that the red pepper decline under continuous cropping was due to allelopat hy.