To evaluate the effect of fluazifop-p-butyl doses on the performance of bean intercropped with brachiaria species, an experiment was conducted in Coimbra, MG, during the 2007 dry season and 2007-2008 rainy season crops. The experiment was arranged in a randomized block design with four replications. The treatments were set up in a factorial design, involving two species of grass (Brachiaria brizantha and B. decumbens), six doses of fluazifop-p-butyl (0, 7.81, 15.62, 31.25, 62.50, and 125.00 g ha-1), plus the monoculture of both cultures. The common bean plant was planted at 0.5 m between rows, with the brachiaria seeds being sown in the same row of the bean plant. In the intercropping systems, in addition to fluazifop-p-butyl, fomesafen (125 g ha-1) and bentazon (336 g ha-1) were used. A mixture of fomesafen (125 g ha-1) and fluazifop-p-butyl (100 g ha-1) was applied to the monoculture bean. The final plant stand and the bean yield were evaluated with the primary components. Data were submitted to analysis of variance; the effects of the brachiaria species and the crop were studied by the F test and the effects of the fluazifop-p-butyl doses, by regression analysis. It was concluded that B. decumbens is more competitive with the beans than B. brizantha. In the dry season, the use of 7.81g ha-1 of fluazifop-p-butyl in the intercropping with B. decumbens provides a bean yield equivalent to that of the monoculture. Intercropping with B. brizantha does not require the use of herbicide. In the rainy season, regardless of the brachiaria species, 31.25 g ha-1 of fluazifop-p-butyl must be applied.
crop livestock integration; Phaseolus vulgaris; Brachiaria decumbens; Brachiaria brizantha; herbicide
