Weed management in off-season corn cropped alone or intercropped with Congo signal grass

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the efficiency of post‑emergence herbicides for weed control, and its selectivity to Congo signal grass (Urochloa ruziziensis) and to off-season corn cropped alone or intercropped. The trial was carried out in randomized blocks with four replicates in a 2x14 factorial design: off-season corn intercropped or not to U. ruziziensis, and 14 different treatments with herbicides, besides two tests with or without weed control. Weed control, herbicide phytotoxicity to U. ruziziensis, and corn yield were evaluated. All herbicide treatments provided weed control over 80% at 14 days after the application. The treatments with atrazine+oil, at 800 and 1,200 g ha^-1, formed the most selective group to U. ruziziensis; the group with the lowest selectivity consisted of the application of tembotrione alone and in associations with atrazine. The competition between U. ruziziensis and corn reduced corn yield up to 45.3%. However, there were no differences between treatments in the plots treated with herbicides.