Embrapa Cerrados presents results of study on reducing weed infestations in soybean crops
A study from Embrapa Cerrados, a branch of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation located in the Federal District, showed that the intercropping of grains with forage grasses is capable of reducing the incidence of weed infestations in soybean crops. After using these systems in two harvests, a reduction of up to 87% of in the dry weight of these invasive species was observed. The employment of this technique also resulted in an increase of 8% in the average productivity of oleaginous plants. These results suggest that forage grasses, in addition to being used as soil cover, may also be inserted into intercropping systems or planted in succession as a strategy for sustainable intensification of an agricultural system.
According to a study carried out by Embrapa Soja (PR) on Brazil’s main production regions, production costs in crops of oleaginous plants with weed infestations that are resistant to herbicides such as glyphosate may increase by up to 222%, not only as a result of an increase in spending on these products, but also due to a loss of productivity.
The study assessed the intercropping of graniferous sorghum and the forage species Brachiaria ruziziensis (Urochloa ruziziensis) and capim-marandu (palisade grass, or Urochloa brizantha) in the cultivation of the second successive summer soybean harvest. The objective of the study was to observe how the dynamic of field weed infestations was influenced by the cultivation of sorghum in the safrinha (second-crop corn) with two different row spacings (0.5 m and 0.7 m) intercropped with two grasses and in the single cultivation of the three species. An area cultivated with soybean and left to fallow for the rest of the year was also evaluated.
The experiment was carried out over two consecutive years and assessments made during the sorghum cycle in the safrinha (second-crop corn) followed by soybean. Researchers also analyzed the population and dry materials and the seed bank for weeds in the soil during the two crop years. The research was part of the “Assessment of the intercropping of perennial forage species and annual crops in integrated farming-livestock systems for conditions on the Cerrado.” The results were published in the Brazilian Journal of Agricultural Research (PAB) as well as a technical newsletter.
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