S.P Tironi

Relative Competitive Ability of Wheat (Triticum aestivum) Intercropped with Italian Ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) or Wild Radish (Raphanus raphanistrum)

Replacement series experiments make possible the study of inter and intraspecific competition, based on the fact that the yield of the species under competition can be determined by comparing with plants in monoculture. The objective of this work was to investigate the relative competitive ability of wheat crop with the weeds Italian ryegrass or wild radish. Three experiments were conducted under greenhouse at UFPel, in 2006. The treatments were conducted in a completely randomized design, with four replications, with the treatments arranged in replacement series. The proportions of wheat plants and competitors Italian ryegrass or wild radish were: 100/0, 75/25, 50/50, 25/75 and 0/100, always with a total population of 900 plants m-2. Competitiveness statistical analysis consisted in applying diagrams to the replacement series and interpreting the competitiveness indices. The competitive relationships between wheat and ryegrass or between wheat and wild radish plants are altered by the proportion of plants that compose the association. Wheat shows superior competitive ability to ryegrass but inferior to wild radish when the species have similar proportions of plants in the associations and when these species occur in the same ecological niche.

Estimativa das perdas de produtividade de grãos em cultivares de arroz (Oryza sativa) pela interferência do capim-arroz (Echinochloa spp.)

The objectives of this research were to evaluate the level of barnyardgrass interference in flooded rice cultivars and to compare explicative variables aiming to identify the variable providing better data adjustment to a mathematical model. Thus, a field experiment was carried out during the 2005/2006 growing season, with rice cultivated under the conventional system. Treatments consisted of six rice cultivars differing in life cycle duration and ten barnyardgrass plant populations. Variables were evaluated 28 days after rice emergence. The rectangular hyperbolic model was tested to describe the relationship between rice grain yield loss and explicative variables in plants, dry weight, soil coverage and leaf area. Rice grain yield losses due to barnyardgrass interference may be satisfactorily estimated by the hyperbolic model. IRGA 421, 416, and 417 rice cultivars were the most competitive, attaining suitable data fitting to the model tested for all evaluated variables. The variable Barnyardgrass plant population presents better adjustment to the model than do shoot dry matter mass, soil cover, or leaf area.

Período crítico de competição de plantas daninhas com a cultura do trigo

Several factors limit wheat crop yield, with competition imposed by weed plants being the most outstanding. The objective of this study was to determine the critical period of weed interference in wheat crop and the effects of competition on morphological variables and yield components. This field experiment was carried out at Centro Agropecuario da Palma, Capao do Leao, RS, Brazil. Factors tested were periods of coexistence and weed plant control in FUNDACEP 52 wheat cultivar. Periods of coexistence and/or control were: 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42 and 126 days after emergence (DAE). Results obtained for variables at the end of each control period or coexistence, and at harvesting, showed that wheat yield components were not affected by competition with weed plants and that effective control measures should be taken between 12 and 24 days after emergence.

Competitive ability of barley cultivars against ryegrass

Characterization of the competitive ability of barley varieties against weed species is relevant for the adoption of the cultural method of weed control; thus, it is possible to reduce both the production costs and environmental impacts caused by other management methods, including the use of chemicals. This work assessed the competitive ability of barley varieties against ryegrass. Trials were installed under greenhouse conditions at the 2008/2009 cropping season, in a completely randomized block design, with four replications. Treatments were arranged in a substitution series design constituted by five proportions of plants of both species: 100:0; 75:25; 50:50; 25:75; and 0:100. Barley varieties BRS Greta, BRS Elis and BRS 225 were tested against ryegrass as the competitor. The competitive analysis was carried out through diagrams applied to the substitutive design, plus determination of relative competitiveness indexes. Plant height, tillering, leaf area and shoot dry mass were evaluated. The presence of ryegrass reduced tillering, leaf area and dry mass accumulation for all varieties of barley tested, showing to be an aggressive competitor. Among the barley varieties tested, BRS Elis showed the highest competitive ability against ryegrass. Ryegrass requires the adoption of control techniques even when present at low proportions in the field.Characterization of the competitive ability of barley varieties against weed species is relevant for the adoption of the cultural method of weed control; thus, it is possible to reduce both the production costs and environmental impacts caused by other management methods, including the use of chemicals. This work assessed the competitive ability of barley varieties against ryegrass. Trials were installed under greenhouse conditions at the 2008/2009 cropping season, in a completely randomized block design, with four replications. Treatments were arranged in a substitution series design constituted by five proportions of plants of both species: 100:0; 75:25; 50:50; 25:75; and 0:100. Barley varieties BRS Greta, BRS Elis and BRS 225 were tested against ryegrass as the competitor. The competitive analysis was carried out through diagrams applied to the substitutive design, plus determination of relative competitiveness indexes. Plant height, tillering, leaf area and shoot dry mass were evaluated. The presence of ryegrass reduced tillering, leaf area and dry mass accumulation for all varieties of barley tested, showing to be an aggressive competitor. Among the barley varieties tested, BRS Elis showed the highest competitive ability against ryegrass. Ryegrass requires the adoption of control techniques even when present at low proportions in the field.

Association of plant traits in oat cultivars with competitive ability

Morphological crop plant traits which confer greater competitive ability may integrate cultural weed management measures, thus reducing the use of herbicides. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a fast initial growth of oat cultivars relate to their competitive potential with concurrent plants. A field experiment was conducted at the Universidade Federal de Pelotas, in Capao do Leao-RS, during the 2006 growing season. The oat cultivars ALBASUL, CFT 1, UPFA 22, and URS 22, which were tested under three competition conditions (absence of concurrent plants, presence of flax or of wheat as competitors) were used. The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design, with four replicates. Many morphological characteristics in oat plants were evaluated at the initial phase of their development, as well as other agronomic traits at the end of the oat cycle and of the cycle of its competitors. Oat cultivars reacted differently to the presence of concurrent plants. The UPFA 22 cultivar generally presented greater values for the morphological plant traits associated with competitive ability; whereas URS 22 showed deficiencies in traits advantageous to competition. The cultivars UPFA 22 and CFT 1 demonstrated a high potential to compete with concurrent plants. The morphological traits of oat cultivars evaluated at the beginning of their development, in general, did not sustain the competitive ability until the end of their cycles.

Water use efficiency in sugarcane genotypes submitted to herbicide application.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the herbicides ametryn and trifloxysulfuron-sodium, applied alone or in mixture, on the characteristics associated to water use efficiency in sugarcane varieties under field conditions. The trial was installed in a completely randomized block design with split-plots and four replications. Plots were composed by the herbicides ametryn, trifloxysulfuron-sodium or a commercial mixture of ametryn + trifloxysulfuron-sodium, applied 65 days after planting, plus a control mechanically free of weed infestation; split-plots were composed by sugarcane varieties (RB72454, RB835486, RB855113, RB867515, RB947520 and SP80-1816). Fifteen days after herbicide application, stomatal conductance (Gs), temperature gradient between leaf and air (DT) and transpiration rate (E) were evaluated, and water use efficiency (WUE) was obtained as a function of photosynthesis and transpiration rates. Plant shoots were also collected for dry matter determination. Variety RB855113 presented the greatest damage to water use efficiency and transpiration and was thus considered the most sensitive to ametryn and trifloxysulfuron, while varieties SP80-1816 and RB867515 were the most tolerant. In these varieties, herbicides caused only minor changes in water use efficiency and thermal gradient. Stomatal conductance, leaf temperature, transpiration and water use efficiency were effective in identifying herbicide damage to crops, mainly those caused by photosynthesis-inhibiting herbicides; sugarcane genotypes showed a different behavior in relation to herbicide susceptibility and varieties SP80-1816 and RB867515 were the less affected by the herbicide treatments; on the other hand, RB855113 was the most severely affected.

Herbicide selectivity to sugarcane genotypes

Due to a slow initial development up to 60 days after emergence, sugarcane shows little competitive capacity over weeds. Thus, the use of herbicides during this period is a common practice in the sugarcane crop. However, there is a variation between sugarcane genotypes regarding herbicide tolerance. This work evaluated the tolerance of three genotypes to the herbicides ametryn, trifloxysulfuron-sodium and their commercial formulated mixture in 0.0, 0.5, 1.0 and 3.0 times the recommended commercial dose. The experiment was conducted under protected environmental conditions. A completely randomized design was used, with four replications. The treatments were composed by genotypes SP80-1816, RB855113, RB867515 associated to herbicides ametryn, trifloxysulfuron-sodium and sodium-ametryn + trifloxysulfuron, at doses of 0, 0.5, 1.0 and 3.0 times the recommended commercial dose. Intoxication of the plants (%) was assessed at 14, 28 and 42 days after application of the herbicides (DAT). The other variables measured at 80 days after crop emergence were leaf area and shoot dry matter. In general, the genotypes SP80-1816 and RB855113 were less tolerant to the herbicides ametryn, trifloxysulfuron- sodium and the mixture ametryn + trifloxysulfuron-sodium than the RB867515 at all tested doses. They showed high intoxication levels at 14, 28 and 42 days after herbicide application. It was concluded that genotype RB855113 was the most sensitive to the herbicides, followed by SP80-1816, with RB867515 being the most tolerant.

Efeito de herbicidas na atividade microbiana do solo

This work aimed to evaluate the effects of herbicides and doses on the microbial activity and inorganic phosphate solubilization potential of a soil cultivated with sugarcane. The treatments were composed by the herbicides ametryn, trifloxysulfuron-sodium, and ametryn + trifloxysulfuron-sodium at 0, 1, 2, 4, and 8 times the reference doses of 10, 0.112, and 7.315 + 0.185 mg dm3 of the active ingredient, respectively. After herbicide application, soil samples were incubated for 15 days and CO2 evolution (C-CO2) was evaluated every three days. At the end of incubation, microbial biomass carbon (MBC), metabolic quotient (qCO2), phosphate solubilization potential, and relative phosphate solubilization were evaluated for the treatments tested. C-CO2 evolution was affected by the herbicides and increasing application doses. Trifloxysulfuron-sodium caused a reduction in C-CO 2 evolution of 10.3% in comparison to the control. MBC and qCO2 were negatively affected by the herbicides ametryn and trifloxysulfuron-sodium + ametryn. Trifloxysulfuron-sodium reduced MBC when applied at decreasing doses; the reverse was observed for qCO2. Phosphate solubilization potential was reduced with the application of ametryn (47.20%) and trifloxysulfuron-sodium + ametryn (13.55%), while trifloxysulfuron-sodium applied singly stimulated this activity in the soil (25.48%). Similar behavior was observed for relative phosphate solubilization.

Efficiency of Brachiaria brizantha Control and Selectivity of the Herbicides {(Diuron+Hexazinone)+MSMA} Applied on Sugarcane

Chemical control is the main method used for weed management in sugarcane, with herbicides being usually applied in post-emergence. In some cases, serious toxicity is reported following herbicide application. To reduce the problem of injuries caused by herbicides to sugarcane, the doses used may be reduced to below those recommended in the label, with satisfactory control of the weed community still being obtained, when applied under appropriate environmental conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency and toxicity caused by doses ranging from zero to those recommended in the label of the herbicide mixture {(diuron + hexazinone) + MSMA} applied on the sugarcane variety RB867515, as well as on the weed species Brachiaria brizantha. The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized block design, with four replications. Treatments were allocated in a factorial design (6 x 3), with factor A being the herbicide (0.0, 50.0, 62.5, 75.0, 87.5 and 100.0% of the commercial dose): diuron + hexazinone (1,20 kg ha-1) and MSMA (1,44 kg ha-1), applied in combination; and factor B, the times of application ofthese herbicides, as follows: two to three leaves; four to five leaves and six to seven fully-expanded leaves, corresponding to the two- to four- leaf stages , 6 leaves to one tiller and one to four tillers of the weed species, respectively. At 7, 21, 35, and 49 days after herbicide application, visual analyses of intoxication and control of B. brizantha were carried out, as well as crop yield estimation, 12 months after planting. Considering the situations evaluated, the control of B. brizantha ranged between 50 and 100%, with higher control levels at the higher herbicide doses. The best control of B. brizantha throughout the crop cycle was found to occur when treatments were applied at the two- to- four-leaf stage of the weed species. Toxicity to the crop increased as the doses of {(diuron + hexazinone) + MSMA} increased in all evaluation times, with higher toxicity being observed when the herbicide mixture was applied at the most active growth stages of the crop, leading to lower crop yields.

Colonização micorrízica e atividade de fosfatases ácidas na rizosfera de cultivares de cana-de-açúcar após aplicação de herbicidas

The objective of this work was to evaluate the impact of herbicides on the mycorrhizal colonization and rhizospheric acid phosphatase activity of sugarcane cultivars RB86-7515 and SP80-1816. The experiment was conducted in the field in a conventional tillage system, with 1.4 m spacing between plants and 18 buds m-1. A randomized block design was used following a 2 x 5 factorial, with four replications, in which the first factor corresponded to two sugarcane cultivars (RB867515 and SP80-1816) and the second to four herbicides (ametryn, 2,000 g ha-1; trifloxysulfuron-sodium, 22.5 g ha-1; ametryn + trifloxysulfuron-sodium, 1,463 + 37.5 g ha-1; sulfentrazone, 750 g ha-1). A control treatment without herbicide application was also included. Herbicide application was performed when sugarcane plants presented three to four leaves. The root system and the rhizospheric soil were collected for evaluation of mycorrhizal colonization and acid phosphatase activity at 7, 14, and 28 days after herbicide application (DHA). The herbicides tested did not affect acid phosphatase activity in the rhizosphere soil. RB897515 presented higher mycorrhizal colonization, 22.5 and 27.0%, compared to the control treatment at 7 and 14 DHA, respectively. After 7 DHA, the lowest mycorrhizal colonization, 11.5%, was recorded for cultivar RB867515 treated with trifloxysulfuron-sodium + ametryn. Trifloxysulfuron-sodium stimulated mycorrhizal colonization in the cultivar SP80-1816 at 14 DHA (46.3%). Both cultivars presented higher values of mycorrhizal colonization in the treatments with ametryn at 28 DHA. An increase in mycorrhizal colonization was generally observed along the cultivation period. Mycorrhizal colonization was distinct among the cultivars and herbicides tested.