Biotypes of weeds resistant to herbicides may have lower competitive ability compared to susceptible biotypes. The objective of the study was to investigate the relative competitive ability between biotypes of Cyperus difformis L. resistant or susceptible to ALS-inhibitor herbicides and with rice. Four experiments were carried out under greenhouse, in a completely randomized design with four replications, in 2007 and 2008. Treatments were arranged in additive series and replacement series assay. In each series, the proportion among C. difformis resistant and susceptible plants related to rice were: 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75 and 100:0%, always with a total population of 1060 plants m-2. Leaf area, plant height and shoot dry mass were evaluated. Competitiveness statistical analysis consisted in applying diagrams to the replacement series and alternative interpretations of the competitiveness indexes. In general, biotypes C. difformis resistant and susceptible to ALS-inhibitors herbicides have equivalent competitive ability; the rice cultivar BRS Querência has superior competitive ability in relation to C. difformis resistant or susceptible to ALS-inhibitors herbicides; and for rice, the intraspecific competition is more important, while for C. difformis resistant or susceptible to ALS-inhibitors herbicides, the most important is the interspecific competition.
competition; Oryza sativa; replacement series
