Recent surveys on weed community associated with sugar cane have pointed Ipomoea hederifolia as one of the most important species. Thus, this work aimed to determine the potential for reducing the productivity and quality of sugar cane in response to weed community interference with a predominance of I. hederifolia, and the period prior to interference (PPI). An assay was installed in Pitangueiras , Brazil, with the treatments consisting of nine periods of coexistence of the weeds with the culture (0, 16, 30, 44, 69,97, 135, 160,188 and 229 days after cultivation and fertilization and days after sprouting). The experiments were arranged in a randomized block design, with each treatment in four repetitions. The potential to reduce the number of stems and productivity was found to be 34% and 46%, respectively. The PPI lasted from sprouting up to 33 days. Increased coexistence period with the weed community led to anticipation of the process of maturation of the stems, whose broth tended to show higher total recoverable sugar (TRS) value. With productivity reduction due to interference, the TRS value ha-1 tended to be negatively affected.
competition; interference periods; Ipomoea hederifolia; Sacharum sp
