The aim of this study was to relate the leaf anatomical characteristics of Brachiaria decumbens ('Surinam grass') and Brachiaria plantaginea ('Alexandergrass') to herbicide sensitivity, at three developmental stages. The plants were sown in plastic pots filled with agricultural soil and kept in a greenhouse. The blade median portion of the third- expanded leaf, counted from the stem basis, was sampled, considering three developmental phases: stage 1 (plants presenting 4-6 leaves), stage 2 (plants presenting 3-4 tillers) and, stage 3 (adult plants in the beginning of flowering). The following leaf anatomy descriptors were quantified in the region of the keel (midrib) and wing (a portion between the midrib and the blade margin): transversal section area; percentages of epidermal cells in the adaxial and abaxial surfaces, sclerenchyma, vascular bundle sheath, vascular bundle, and parenchyma; leaf thickness; distance between vascular bundles; stomatal length; number of stomata and trichome (short and long). The values obtained were analyzed using multivariate statistical tests (Cluster Analysis and Principal Component Analysis). The leaf quantitative anatomical descriptors allowed differentiating stage 3 from the other stages as the least sensitive to the action of post-emergence herbicides.
Brachiaria decumbens; Brachiaria plantaginea; multivariate analysis; leaf; grasses
