In the renewal of eucalypt crops, after tree harvesting, it is necessary to eliminate the sprouts that interfere with the initial development of the new stands. This elimination can be made by applying some herbicides on the shoots. One of the herbicides used is imazapyr, which, according to preliminary works carried out at the Universidade Federal de Viçosa, is capable to exsudate through the root system. In this case, questions arise concerning the exsudate ability to interfere in the development of the new plants; whether this capacity is the same for all eucalypt clones; at which imazapyr dose this problem is more serious; and the intensity at which the herbicide exsudate will interfere with the growth of the new stands. This work evaluated whether the root systems of different clones present different imazapyr exsudation intensities and the effect of the applied doses on herbicide concentration in the soil profile and its influence in subsequent crops. A dry mater decrease was verified in the sorghum plants when compared to the checks, in both 0-15 and 15-30 cm soil layers, evidencing imazapyr exsudation through the root system of the four clones analyzed. The toxic effect of the exsudates was observed in the entire soil volume reached by the eucalypt root system. Increased imazapyr doses increased the toxicity symptoms in sorghum imazapyr exsudation by all eucalypt clones was similar at the two depths analyzed.
sprout elimination; herbicide; replanting
