Phenolic allelochemicals: Achievements, limitations, and prospective approaches in weed management

• Published in: Weed biology and management 2021-06, Vol.21 (2), p.37-67
• Main Authors: Hoang Anh, La, Van Quan, Nguyen, Tuan Nghia, La, Dang Xuan, Tran
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural development; Agricultural production; Allelochemicals; allelopathic plant; allelopathy; Artificial intelligence; Genetic engineering; Herbicides; phenolic allelochemicals; Phenolic compounds; Phenols; Sustainability; sustainable agricultural development; Sustainable agriculture; Sustainable development; Weed control; weed management; Weeds
• ISSN: 1444-6162; 1445-6664
• DOI: 10.1111/wbm.12230

In recent decades, phenolic compounds derived from plants have been considered as potential weed inhibitors due to their environmentally friendly properties, which are profitable regarding sustainable development targets. While experiments indicated that phenolic compounds exhibited significant inhibition on weeds via various biological pathways, none of these natural compounds have been efficiently applied in practical agricultural production. This paper provides an overview of the phenolic allelochemicals (and their plant sources) that have been reported to have the most potential for weed growth inhibition as well as their modes of action. The biosynthetic pathway, classification, distribution, release, degradation, extraction, and isolation of these allelochemicals are also discussed. In addition, the advantages and limitations of applying these allelochemicals in weed management and sustainable agricultural development are indicated. Accordingly, there are three promising strategies to deal with the present problems and improve the effectiveness of future studies, including: (a) to discover a new approach combining phenolic allelochemicals and other prospective phytochemicals in the development of natural herbicides; (b) to modify the chemical structure for strengthening the stability and activity of the target compound; and (c) to generate resistant crops against weed stress related to the proliferation of phenolic allelochemicals through genetic engineering approaches. Conceivably, the information on phenolic allelochemicals that is assembled in this paper may provide a useful dataset for future studies on the application of artificial intelligence in the design and production of efficient natural herbicides for weed management and sustainable agricultural development.