Abstract
ABSTRACT: Knowing the most important species in the weed community is necessary to decide the best weed control method to be used. Thus, a phytosociological survey was carried out on cassava cultivation areas located in five rural properties of Cândido Sales, BA, Brazil, one of the state’s largest cassava producers. Two collections were carried out in each property in February (summer) and August (winter) 2016. A square metal frame with 0.25 m2 was randomly placed in each area, zigzagging, and establishing a proportion of 25 castings per hectare, with a sampling area of 6.25 m2 in each area. Weeds were identified and quantified, and then phytosociological parameters of frequency, density, abundance, relative frequency, relative density, relative abundance, and importance value index were determined. The analysis of the similarity between populations of the areas and periods was determined by the Sorensen similarity index. A variation of weed community composition was observed between cassava and harvest periods, with a higher infestation in the summer. A similarity was observed between cassava cultivation areas.
Highlights
Cassava is a perennial, shrub-like, heliophyte plant that develops in tropical and subtropical regions of the world (Onyenwoke and Simonyan, 2014)
In the ’70s, Brazil was the world’s largest cassava producer, with about 30 million tons of this root. This production was reduced to around 18.87 million tons, with a mean yield of 14.35 t ha-1 in 2017 (IBGE, 2018), being Brazil considered the world’s fourth-largest producer behind Nigeria, Thailand, and Indonesia, according to the latest world survey conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2016 (FAO, 2018)
According to Carvalho et al (2007), the use of fire is still a common practice in soil preparation for cassava planting in southwestern Bahia, and it is more evident in areas to be planted for the first time
Summary
Shrub-like, heliophyte plant that develops in tropical and subtropical regions of the world (Onyenwoke and Simonyan, 2014). It plays an important role in agriculture and development of Brazil, mainly in the Northeast, where it develops well in poor soils and with low precipitation indices in the region. Cândido Sales, BA, is the most outstanding in Bahia In the past, this municipality was already the largest cassava national producer but currently occupies the 10th place in the state, with a production in 2016 of 38,000 tons and a mean yield of 6.33 t ha-1 (IBGE, 2018). Cassava has high economic and social importance, with large participation in the family income of many farmers in the region
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