There are many herbicide application options for sugarcane pre-emergence but, currently, post-emergence control is the great challenge. The objective of this work was to evaluate the efficiency of the herbicide mesotrione in mixture with ametryn and metribuzin in the post-emergence control of ten weeds sown in sugarcane, variety RB86-7515. The weeds used in the experiment were: Brachiaria decumbens, Brachiaria plantaginea, Cenchrus echinatus, Digitaria horizontalis, Panicum maximum, Amaranthus deflexus, Bidens pilosa, Euphorbia heterophylla, Ipomoea nil and Sida glaziovii, sown in between the rows after crop emergence. The herbicides were applied on the 45th day after sugarcane planting when the monocotyledon weeds reached the third tiller phase and the dicotyledon weeds completed three to four leaves. The following treatments were carried out: mesotrione (120 g ha-1); ametryn (2,000 g ha-1); metribuzin (1,920 g ha-1); mesotrione + ametryn (120 g + 2,000 g ha-1); mesotrione + metribuzin (120 g + 1,920 g ha-1) and control with and without weeds. It was concluded that the herbicides, isolated or in mixture, were selective to sugarcane. Regarding control efficiency, it was observed that the herbicide mesotrione was efficient in the control of A. deflexus; ametryn was efficient in the control of A. deflexus, B. pilosa and I. nil; metribuzin was efficient in the control of A. deflexus, B. pilosa and S. glaziovii; mesotrione + ametryn were efficient in the control of B. decumbens, B. plantaginea, D. horizontalis, P. maximum, A. deflexus, B. pilosa, I. nil and S. glaziovii, and mesotrione + metribuzin was efficient in the control of B. plantaginea, D. horizontalis, P. maximum, A. deflexus, B. pilosa and S. glaziovii. A high synergistic effect of mesotrione was verified with the tested herbicides, with the mixture with ametryn being the most prominent.
chemical control; weeds; mixture; Saccharum spp
