Root exudates are one of the important sources of plant autotoxic substances. Studies have shown that phthalic acid is a well known allelopathic autotoxic substance, and it is also one of the substances with higher content in rubber tree root exudates. In order to explore whether phthalic acid has an autotoxic effect on rubber tree, the effects of different concentrations (0.05, 0.50, 1.00, 2.00 mmol/L) of phthalic acid solutions on the seed germination and seedling growth of rubber tree RRIM600 were investigated. Phthalic acid delayed the initial germination time of rubber tree seeds, and reduced the germination rate, germination speed and uniformity of seeds germination. Compared with the control, the germination rate, germination index, germination speed, and uniformity of seeds germination of 2.00 mmol/L phthalic acid trestment decreased by 23.60%, 42.75%, 37.18%, 58.69%. All concentrations of phthalic acid treatment inhibited the growth of shoot length, diameter of shoot base, root diameter, and reduced the seedling biomass accumulation. In the concentration range of 0.05-2.00 mmol/L, the shoot length, diameter of shoot base, root diameter, shoot weight and root weight reduced by 12.91% to 40.70%, 20.05% to 21.59%, 7.89% to 34.13%, 16.18% to 26.47%, 20.00% to 36.00%. The content of soluble sugar, proline and malondialdehyde (MDA) increased gradually with the increase of phthalic acid concentration, along with the degree of cell membrane lipid peroxidation gradually increased. The pigment content and catalase (CAT) activity of rubber tree seedlings increased first and then decreased with the increase of phthalic acid treatment concentration, while peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities decreased with the increase of phthalic acid treatment concentration. 0.05 mmol/L phthalic acid promoted the accumulation of chlorophyll b in seedlings, decreased the content of chlorophyll a, increased the activity of CAT, reduced POD and SOD activity. When the concentration reached 0.50 mmol, the content of chlorophyll a, total amount of chlorophyll, and carotenoid accumulated to the maximum, and decreased the activities of POD and SOD, at 2.00 mmol/L, the activities of POD and SOD continued to decrease. In conclusion, phthalic acid delayed the initial germination time of rubber tree RRIM600 seeds, decreased the seed germination rate and germination rate, led to the disorder of the physiological function of rubber tree seedlings, and inhibited the growth and development. The results could provide basic data support for the evaluation of the autotoxicity of phthalic acid on rubber trees.
| 科 Family | 属数 Number of genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) | 属 Genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 鹅膏菌科Amanitaceae | 2 | 11 | 5.26 | 鹅膏菌属 Amanita | 10 | 4.78 |
| 小菇科 Mycenaceae | 2 | 12 | 5.74 | 丝盖伞属 Inocybe | 5 | 2.39 |
| 多孔菌科 Polyporaceae | 8 | 14 | 6.70 | 蜡蘑属 Laccaria | 5 | 2.39 |
| 红菇科 Russulaceae | 3 | 23 | 11.00 | 小皮伞属 Marasmius | 6 | 2.87 |
| 小菇属 Mycena | 11 | 5.26 | ||||
| 光柄菇属 Pluteus | 5 | 2.39 | ||||
| 红菇属 Russula | 17 | 8.13 | ||||
| 栓菌属 Trametes | 5 | 2.39 |