Interferência do mulch de Urochloa ruziziensis na emergência de Ipomoea spp., Merremia spp. e Mucuna spp

Abstract

Brazil is one of the world's leading citrus producers but faces phytosanitary challenges. Among these, weeds are particularly notable, and currently, climbing species have caused significant losses in production and increased operational costs. A promising conservation agriculture technique is the ecological mowing management with brachiarias (Urochloa spp.) as a cover crop in citrus orchards, with equipment called ecological mower that creates a mulch layer around the citrus plants, potentially suppressing susceptible weeds. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate how brachiaria mulch can influence the emergence of endemic climbing weeds in citrus orchards. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse, testing different levels of U. ruziziensis mulch (0.0, 1.5, 3.0, 6.0, and 12.0 t/ha) in pots sown with Ipomoea hederifolia, Ipomoea quamoclit, Ipomoea grandifolia, Ipomoea purpurea, Ipomoea triloba, Ipomoea ramosissima, Ipomoea nil, Merremia cissoides, Merremia aegyptia, and Mucuna aterrima. Evaluations were conduc