Investigation of the Effects of Plant Extracts Containing Allelopathic Compounds as Natural Herbicides for Controlling yellow-thorn and wild safflower in Chickpea Crops

Investigation of the Effects of Plant Extracts Containing Allelopathic Compounds as Natural Herbicides for Controlling yellow-thorn and wild safflower in Chickpea Crops | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Investigation of the Effects of Plant Extracts Containing Allelopathic Compounds as Natural Herbicides for Controlling yellow-thorn and wild safflower in Chickpea Crops Sadegh Jalilian, Ahmad Ghanbari, Mohammad Reza Asgharipour, Alireza Bagheri This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6922007/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 28 Nov, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 17 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The use of plant extracts containing inhibitory compounds and the evaluation of their toxic effects on weeds can contribute to reducing the reliance on chemical herbicides. This study aimed to investigate the effects of plant extracts containing allelochemical compounds as natural herbicides for controlling yellow-thorn ( Picnomon acarna) and wild safflower ( Carthamus oxyacantha ) in chickpea ( Cicer arietinum ) fields during the cropping seasons of 2021–2022 and 2022–2023. In both years, the experimental treatments included extracts of chamomile, artichoke, and peanut shells; pelargonic acid; the herbicide Challenge,; and a control (pure water). The results indicated that, among the applied treatments, chamomile extract presented the highest toxicity to both weed species. Compared with the control, the chamomile extract significantly reduced weed biomass by 55.53% and increased chickpea biomass by 73.81%. The combined data analysis revealed that the greatest inhibition of yellow-thorn and wild safflower growth was observed after treatment with chamomile extract in the first year, with inhibition rates of 70.47% and 82.83%, respectively. In the second year, yellow-thorn and wild safflower treated with chamomile extract presented a reduction in greenness of 55.36% and 53.44%, respectively, compared with the control in the same year, indicating the phytotoxic effect of the extract. Notably, the stomatal conductance of yellow-thorn and wild safflower treated with chamomile extract in the second year decreased by 37.40% and 37.85%, respectively, compared with that of the untreated control in the same year. The yellow-thorn plants in the pelargonic acid and control treatments in the first year presented the lowest chlorophyll fluorescence, which was 18.82% lower than that in the control in the second year. Additionally, chamomile extract treatment in the second year resulted in a 41.86% reduction in the chlorophyll fluorescence of wild safflower compared with that of the control in the first year. Gas chromatography‒mass spectrometry (GC‒MS) analysis of chamomile essential oils revealed 21 compounds, with terpenoids being the primary active components. The compounds myrtenyl acetate, decanoic acid, spathulenol, and caryophyllene oxide were the most abundant constituents of the essential oil. The significant inhibitory and herbicidal activity observed in chamomile can be attributed to myrtenyl acetate. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the substantial inhibitory effects of chamomile extract on yellow-thorn and wild safflower, which may be utilized for the development of environmentally friendly plant-based herbicides. Biological sciences/Plant sciences Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Pelargonic acid inhibition chamomile extract artichoke myrtenyl acetate greenness Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Tables 1 to 6 are available in the Supplementary Files section. Supplementary Files Table.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 28 Nov, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 11 Sep, 2025 Reviews received at journal 11 Sep, 2025 Reviews received at journal 21 Aug, 2025 Reviews received at journal 15 Aug, 2025 Reviews received at journal 08 Aug, 2025 Reviews received at journal 03 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 31 Jul, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 30 Jul, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 28 Jul, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 28 Jul, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 28 Jul, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 28 Jul, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 28 Jul, 2025 Editor invited by journal 24 Jun, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 20 Jun, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 19 Jun, 2025 First submitted to journal 18 Jun, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6922007","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":493255175,"identity":"570a2589-a397-44f9-a17b-830da5e08d75","order_by":0,"name":"Sadegh Jalilian","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Zabol","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sadegh","middleName":"","lastName":"Jalilian","suffix":""},{"id":493255176,"identity":"be0e3f64-3218-4551-ad6b-513c88300e75","order_by":1,"name":"Ahmad Ghanbari","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Zabol","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ahmad","middleName":"","lastName":"Ghanbari","suffix":""},{"id":493255177,"identity":"e3e259a2-f724-49e7-bf61-c90166503a2e","order_by":2,"name":"Mohammad Reza Asgharipour","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA7ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYLACxgYGBjYwqwImZEC0ljOkaIEw2ohwk24D8+OPX3fY5fNJNx+Trpx3WE6+gfnhB4aCezi1mB1gM5OWPZNs2SZzLE3y7LbDxowNbMYSDAbFeLQwmDFLtjEbsEnkmEk2bjuc2AwUBPolAY8W9s+fJdvqoVrmHE5sY2D/RkALj4Hkx7bDUC0NhxN7GHgI2cJTJs3YdtyATeZYsmXDsXRjCWaeYokE/A7b/PFnW7WB/Ozmgzcbaqzl5NvbN3748Ae3Fgb5BwzMPCCGBEyEGYjxaAADxh8oWkbBKBgFo2AUoAEAeWFJNVb6Pm0AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"University of Zabol","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mohammad","middleName":"Reza","lastName":"Asgharipour","suffix":""},{"id":493255178,"identity":"8be9c163-713a-4cb4-878c-c377d6eae680","order_by":3,"name":"Alireza Bagheri","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Razi University, Kermanshah","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Alireza","middleName":"","lastName":"Bagheri","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-06-18 10:23:21","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6922007/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6922007/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-27109-3","type":"published","date":"2025-11-28T15:57:37+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":88042920,"identity":"139abb63-aa2e-4856-a435-d6d17c89ae79","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-31 17:32:42","extension":"jpg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":66748,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eClimatic variations during the experimental months in 2022 and 2023\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6922007/v1/f8b99b4767405148fdcf3a15.jpg"},{"id":88042454,"identity":"d20f547d-f163-4d42-b07b-ac85cf4c9e66","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-31 17:24:42","extension":"jpg","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":80340,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEffect of treatments on the percentage of total weed and chickpea biomass in plots\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"2.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6922007/v1/d651d44e4249b17ef914df62.jpg"},{"id":88042456,"identity":"5414000d-d348-41f4-a631-bb47dce8a661","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-31 17:24:42","extension":"jpg","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":75011,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eComparison of the mean effect of treatments on the inhibition of weed growth for yellow-thorn (A) and wild safflower (B). Means sharing the same letter in each column are not significantly different based on the Least Significant Difference (LSD) test at a 5% probability level.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"3.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6922007/v1/3b35fa8b64dddf44644ad5a6.jpg"},{"id":88043609,"identity":"68a7a21b-a974-46f3-9852-89b8e8322865","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-31 17:40:42","extension":"jpg","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":79173,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eComparison of the mean effect of treatments on the greenness of weeds yellow-thorn (A) and wild safflower (B). Means sharing the same letter in each column are not significantly different based on the Least Significant Difference (LSD) test at a 5% probability level.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"4.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6922007/v1/48652427c9253ecc4177ac89.jpg"},{"id":88042921,"identity":"b6be90b9-702b-4040-9261-53ff99818198","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-31 17:32:42","extension":"jpg","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":83453,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eComparison of the mean effect of treatments on the stomatal conductance of weeds yellow-thorn (A) and wild safflower (B). Means sharing the same letter in each column are not significantly different based on the Least Significant Difference (LSD) test at a 5% probability level.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"5.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6922007/v1/dc9ffff319bddd095a9f14ee.jpg"},{"id":88042458,"identity":"cf307b04-f663-4583-bc0d-4d15455878f3","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-31 17:24:42","extension":"jpg","order_by":6,"title":"Figure 6","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":78485,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eComparison of the mean effect of treatments on chlorophyll fluorescence of weeds yellow-thorn (A) and wild safflower (B). Means sharing the same letter in each column are not significantly different based on the Least Significant Difference (LSD) test at a 5% probability level.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"6.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6922007/v1/0b77907fa51e4cb8fdc07d1f.jpg"},{"id":88042923,"identity":"90c4e133-4737-4c19-b6af-eca080cbaa10","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-31 17:32:42","extension":"jpg","order_by":7,"title":"Figure 7","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":45925,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGas chromatogram obtained from GC-MS analysis of chamomile essential oil\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"7.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6922007/v1/2b2e0a74a64727e93ab2205f.jpg"},{"id":97178373,"identity":"78eaae31-8ed1-4816-bfc5-e2119217f524","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-01 16:09:19","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1531726,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6922007/v1_covered_928633db-1f8b-4404-8c58-72f38478f99e.pdf"},{"id":88042461,"identity":"9b101b34-342e-4af7-88bc-c420184a9122","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-31 17:24:42","extension":"docx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":31723,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Table.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6922007/v1/77ca5debf431d9b34a3f18de.docx"}],"financialInterests":"\u003cp\u003eNo competing interests reported.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTables 1 to 6 are available in the Supplementary Files section.\u003c/p\u003e","formattedTitle":"Investigation of the Effects of Plant Extracts Containing Allelopathic Compounds as Natural Herbicides for Controlling yellow-thorn and wild safflower in Chickpea Crops","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Pelargonic acid, inhibition, chamomile extract, artichoke, myrtenyl acetate, greenness","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6922007/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6922007/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe use of plant extracts containing inhibitory compounds and the evaluation of their toxic effects on weeds can contribute to reducing the reliance on chemical herbicides. This study aimed to investigate the effects of plant extracts containing allelochemical compounds as natural herbicides for controlling yellow-thorn (\u003cem\u003ePicnomon acarna)\u003c/em\u003e and wild safflower (\u003cem\u003eCarthamus oxyacantha\u003c/em\u003e) in chickpea (\u003cem\u003eCicer arietinum\u003c/em\u003e)\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c/strong\u003efields during the cropping seasons of 2021–2022 and 2022–2023. In both years, the experimental treatments included extracts of chamomile, artichoke, and peanut shells; pelargonic acid; the herbicide Challenge,; and a control (pure water). The results indicated that, among the applied treatments, chamomile extract presented the highest toxicity to both weed species. Compared with the control, the chamomile extract significantly reduced weed biomass by 55.53% and increased chickpea biomass by 73.81%. The combined data analysis revealed that the greatest inhibition of yellow-thorn and wild safflower growth was observed after treatment with chamomile extract in the first year, with inhibition rates of 70.47% and 82.83%, respectively. In the second year, yellow-thorn and wild safflower treated with chamomile extract presented a reduction in greenness of 55.36% and 53.44%, respectively, compared with the control in the same year, indicating the phytotoxic effect of the extract. Notably, the stomatal conductance of yellow-thorn and wild safflower treated with chamomile extract in the second year decreased by 37.40% and 37.85%, respectively, compared with that of the untreated control in the same year. The yellow-thorn plants in the pelargonic acid and control treatments in the first year presented the lowest chlorophyll fluorescence, which was 18.82% lower than that in the control in the second year. Additionally, chamomile extract treatment in the second year resulted in a 41.86% reduction in the chlorophyll fluorescence of wild safflower compared with that of the control in the first year. Gas chromatography‒mass spectrometry (GC‒MS) analysis of chamomile essential oils revealed 21 compounds, with terpenoids being the primary active components. The compounds myrtenyl acetate, decanoic acid, spathulenol, and caryophyllene oxide were the most abundant constituents of the essential oil. The significant inhibitory and herbicidal activity observed in chamomile can be attributed to myrtenyl acetate. 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