Selectivity of Herbicides to Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata)

Abstract

ABSTRACT The presence of weeds in commercial fields of cabbage may interfere directly and indirectly on yield and on the quality of the commercial product. Therefore, the satisfactory production depends on a successful control of weeds. Because of the limited availability of herbicides registered in Brazil for cabbage crop in addition to the lack of information in the literature, the objective of this work was to evaluate the selectivity of herbicides to cabbage. The herbicides S-metolachlor (1,740 and 768 g ha-1), oxyfluorfen (240 and 96 g ha-1), flumioxazin (40 and 40 g ha-1) clomazone (720 and 360 g ha-1) and oxyfluorfen + flumioxazin (240 + 20 and 96 + 20 g ha-1) were applied before and after transplant of seedlings, besides the S-metolachlor + flumioxazin (768 + 20 g ha-1) mixture applied after transplant. The experiment was developed in the field, in a randomized block design with four replications. Weed control and cabbage crop injury were evaluated as well as the number of productive and suppressed cabbage plants, the average fresh mass of heads and yield. All herbicide treatments controlled weeds in the area satisfactorily; however, most of them caused high toxicity in plants with the exception of oxyfluorfen, applied before transplant, and flumioxazin and S-metolachlor, applied after transplant, which caused little leaf injury in plants. Oxyfluorfen applied before and after transplant and S-metolachlor, applied after transplant did not affect the number of productive and suppressed plants nor yield, being selective in cabbage.