Competition between crops and weeds is influenced by plant morphophysiological characteristics and plant spatial arrangement. A field experiment was carried out in Canoinhas-SC to evaluate the effect of row width and two corn genotypes on crop ability to compete against weeds. The treatments were arranged in a completely randomized design, using a factorial scheme (2x4x2), with four replicates. Two corn genotypes with distinct morphological characteristics were grown under four row widths (0.4; 0.6; 0.8; and 1.0 m), with and without weeds. Weed shoot dry matter, corn traits, corn yield and grain yield components were determined. Weed dry matter decreased with reduced row width in both genotypes, though more intensely in the hybrid genotype than in the variety. Corn grain yield increased with row width reduction under both interference conditions for the hybrid 'AS-1544', but only under weed presence for the 'Cateto' variety when row width decreased.
interference; competitive ability; weed management; plant spatial arrangement
