Weed interference capacity on soybean yield

Abstract

Among biological factors, weeds are the most important limiting factor for crop yields, as well as increasing production costs. The aim was to determine the influence of control and coexistence of weed community on soybean crop yield and to define the period before interference, the critical period of interference prevention and the total period of interference prevention, with the comparative use of chemical and mechanical methods for weed eradication. The study was conducted in an experimental field in the 2018/2019 harvest. A randomized block with four replications was implemented as experimental design, using two methods for control. The evaluated periods were 0-10, 0-20, 0-30, 0-40, 0-50, 0-60 and 130 days after crop emergence. It was possible to observe that the use of the chemical method generated a higher yield compared to mechanical method. The period before the interference in both chemical and mechanical management was similar, approaching 20 days after crop emergence. The critical period of interference prevention was between 20-50 and 40.5 days after crop emergence in chemical and mechanical methods, respectively. The total period of interference prevention was extended to 50 and 40.5 days after crop emergence in chemical and mechanical methods, respectively. The reduction in productivity due to weed interference was 1639 kg ha-1 (55%)and 947 kg ha-1 (34.6%) in chemical and mechanical methods, respectively.