Influence of corn sowing density and gliricidia intercropping on weed control

There is interest in the identification of the best seeding density for new corn hybrids and on reduced use of herbicides for weed control. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of seeding density (30, 50, 70, and 90 thousand plants ha-1) and weed control on green ear yield and grain yield in corn cultivar AG 1051. A completely randomized block design was adopted with split-plots (seeding densities assigned to plots) and ten replicates. Weed control was achieved by means of two hoeings and by planting corn intercropped with gliricidia (between corn rows, in pits spaced 0.3 m apart). A "no weeding"treatment was included as well. Increased seeding density increased the total number and weight of marketable green ears and decreased the biomass of both weeds and gliricidia. In non-weeded, intercropped and hoed plots, the maximum grain yield values achieved as seeding density increased were 7,881, 7,021, and 9,213 kg ha-1, respectively, obtained with populations of 67 thousand, 74 thousand, and 67 thousand plants per hectare, respectively. Intercropping did not control weeds (26 species) and provided weed growth, green ear yield, and grain yield (at the lowest densities) similar to those obtained without hoeing, except for total number of green ears, in which no influence of weed control was observed. At densities of 70 thousand and 90 thousand plants per hectare, grain yield with two hoeings was not different from yield values obtained without weeding or in the treatment intercropped with gliricidia, respectively, indicating that increased corn seeding density as well as gliricidiamay help to control weeds. Existe interesse na identificação da densidade de semeadura ideal para os novos híbridos de milho e na redução do uso de herbicidas no controle de plantas daninhas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar os efeitos da densidade de semeadura (30, 50, 70 e 90 mil plantas ha-1) e do controle de plantas daninhas sobre os rendimentos de espigas verdes e de grãos da cultivar de milho AG 1051. Utilizou-se o delineamento de blocos completos casualizados com parcelas subdivididas (densidades de semeadura atribuídas às parcelas) e dez repetições. O controle de plantas daninhas foi obtido por duas capinas e pela consorciação do milho com gliricídia (entre as fileiras do milho em covas espaçadas por 0,3 m). Um tratamento "sem capinas"foi incluído como controle. O aumento da densidade de semeadura aumentou o número total de espigas e o peso de espigas v