Ecological pest management and control by using allelopathic weeds (Ageratum conyzoides,Ambrosia trifida,and Lantana camara) and their allelochemicals in China

The development of pest management and control is striving toward a future of sustainable agriculture. Weeds cause serious problems in agricultural ecosystems and attempts to control them have met with limited success. However, many weeds are allelopathic; that is, they can produce and release allelochemicals to interact with other plant competitors and to attack microbes or insect and other animal predators. These allelopathic weeds and their allelochemicals may be put into use for ecological pest management and control or employed for other uses. Currently, little attention has been paid to how allelopathic weeds and their allelochemicals potentially can be utilized as an important part of pest management and control in agricultural ecosystems. This review outlines recent research regarding the potential for pest management and control by allelopathic weeds and their allelochemicals by studying the cases of Ageratum conyzoides, Ambrosia trifida, and Lantana camara and provides examples of allelopathic weeds and their allelochemicals that have been incorporated into ecological pest management and control in China.