Abstrakt
Allelopathic plants can be widely used in bio-farming considering their potential role in
the improvement of seed germination. The study presented in this work was designed to evaluate
the effects of two extraction methods and the effects of allelopathic aqueous extracts from twenty
plants as seed dressing preparations on the number of germinating and infested seeds of cauliflower
(Brassica oleracea convarietas L. botrytis var. botrytis). Plant extracts (in the form of cold-soaked
macerates and infusions) were used for seed dressing. The percentages of normally germinating,
non-germinating, and pathogen-infested seeds were determined in a paper test. Of the 20 herbal plant
species used in the study, the biopreparations extracted from Zea mays L. moles were the most effective
as they evoked the most beneficial effects on both seed germination and reduction of infestation by
microbial pathogens. The study also showed that infusions used for seed treatment were better at
improving cauliflower seed germination than were macerates. This method of extract preparation
probably enabled an increase both in the availability and activity of allelochemical compounds.