The objective of this work was to select herbicides that can be used to chemically eradicate coconut palms infected with stem-bleeding. The experiment was carried out in Neopolis, Sergipe, from June to July 2007. The area had been cultivated with the coconut variety green-dwarf for 11 years. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design, in split-plots and five replicates (each experimental unit was composed by one coconut tree). Treatments comprised combinations of ten herbicides {MSMA (36 g per plant); glyphosate (18 g per plant); paraquat (18 g per plant); [2,4-D + picloram] (18 + 1,125 g per plant); [2,4-D + picloram] + paraquat ([9 + 0,5625] + 5 g per plant); MSMA + glyphosate (18 + 9 g per plant); MSMA + paraquat (18 + 5 g per plant); glyphosate + paraquat (9 + 5 g per plant); [2,4-D + picloram] + MSMA ([9 + 0,5625] + 18 g per plant); control treatment with no application} and four evaluation times (7, 14, 21 and 28 days after herbicide application). The herbicides were injected in the stem of the palm plants through a hole 25 cm deep x 5 cm in diameter and 45º inclination, located at 1 m height. The application was made with a graded syringe immediately after drilling of the holes using undiluted herbicide. The herbicide MSMA resulted in the quickest desiccation of infected coconut trees and killed all the tested plants. Given these results, MSMA was chosen to be tested in further studies aiming to elaborate a technique for the chemical eradication of coconut trees infected with stem-bleeding.
Cocos nucifera; Ceratocystis paradoxa; MSMA; paraquat; glyphosate
