Researchers have identified a compound that acts as a biological herbicide.

Researchers have reported the discovery of a natural herbicide in the leaves of the Manchurian walnut—a compound called 2Z-decaprenol, which can effectively inhibit the growth of weeds without the use of synthetic chemicals. This was reported by the Times of India. The substance, isolated from the leaves of Juglans mandshurica, has shown the ability to simultaneously disrupt the development of the root system of weeds and affect their stress responses. According to scientists, 2Z-decaprenol has proven to be significantly more effective than the known natural inhibitor juglone, which has already been used as an allelopathic compound in plants of the walnut family. Researchers noticed the potential of the substance during soil tests, when they simulated the natural process of leaf decomposition. The nonpolar fractions of the extract caused pronounced inhibition of the growth of the roots ...