INFLUENCE OF THE DENSITY AND DISTANCE OF Digitaria horizontalis Willd IN THE BIOMETRIC AND NUTRITIONAL PARAMETERS OF PRE-SPROUTED SEEDLINGS OF SUGARCANE

Abstract

Sugarcane is one of the main agricultural crops in Brazil and the presence of weeds in production areas can affect growth, development and accumulation of nutrients of the crop, which may relate to the density and area of influence of the weeds in the field. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of the density and distance of crabgrass (Digitaria horizontalis Willd) on the development of pre-sprouted seedlings (PSS) of sugarcane of the variety IAC SP 95-5000. We conducted the experiment in a greenhouse in a randomized design with four repetitions. We evaluated height, leaf area, aerial dry biomass, and nutritional analysis of leaf tissue of the PSS after the weeds flowered at 84 days. The crabgrass did not interfere in the biometric and nutritional parameters when they were 18 and 24 cm away from the crop. Regardless of the planting density and the density of 80 plants m-2 of crabgrass for all distances, we considered the distance of six cm between the crop and the weeds critical for the crop, since they significantly reduced height, leaf area, and aerial dry biomass of the PSS. The crabgrass was a potential competitor for N, P, K, Mn, Fe, and Zn with the PSS in the conditions of 2, 6, and 12 cm when they were in 40 and 80 plants m-2.