ABSTRACT
Ryegrass is an annual cycle Poacea, often considered as a weed in wheat crops. The goal of this study was to analyze oxidative stress and enzyme activity of wheat and ryegrass cultures in response to stress caused by the competition between crop and weed, in two development stages. The experiment was conducted in completely randomized design, with eight replications, in replacement series, with a population of 64 plants per pot. Treatments consisted of proportions of ryegrass and wheat plants arranged in replacement series. The tested proportions were: 100/0 (pure wheat stand), 75/25, 50/50, 25/75 and 0/100% (pure ryegrass stand). The evaluated variables were: hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content, thiobarbituric acid-reactive species (TBARS), electrolyte leakage and activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and catalase (CAT) antioxidant enzymes. Culture and the damages caused by ryegrass competition varied according to the plant developmental stage. Both for wheat and rygrass culture, intraspecies competition caused higher oxidative stress, with increasing H2O2 and TBARS contents and electrolyte leakage. SOD, CAT and APX activity increased in the culture during interspecies competition. In ryegrass, interspecies competition also increased SOD and CAT activity, whereas weed monoculture caused an increase in the APX enzyme. Generally speaking, variable behaviors were similar between the tillering and stem elongation stages.
Keywords:
Triticum aestivum; Lolium multiflorum; stress; competitiveness