The partial blockage of the routes of action of herbicides, using low doses, may have important implications by altering the balance of the metabolic processes in plants. Thus, an experiment was conducted in cutting cane ratoon 2 at Cosan Group's Fazenda Jurema in Barra Bonita-SP, during the agricultural years 2006/2007, to verify the effects of glyphosate and sulfometuron methyl sub-doses on the physiological behavior of sugarcane based on the the levels of chlorophyll and carotenoids. The treatments consisted of applications of two herbicides: sulfometuron methyl (480 a.i. kg-1) and glyphosate (360 a.e. kg-1) in different doses and mixtures (Roundup and Curavial, respectively), plus a control treatment, without herbicide application. The doses used were: glyphosate pc ha-1 of 200 mL, 400 mL of glyphosate pc ha-1; pc ha-1 of 200 mL glyphosate + 10 g of pc ha-1 of sulfometuron methyl; pc ha-1 of 150 mL glyphosate + 12 g of pc ha-1 of sulfometuron methyl, sulfometuron methyl pc ha¹ of 20. The experiment was arranged in a randomized block design with four replications. The evaluations were carried out 15 and 30 days after planting (DAP) and 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 days after harvest (DAH). The leaves were cut using the same standardized weight and leaf area. To determine the content of chlorophyll and carotenoids, samples of 0.2 g of fresh leaf tissue were prepared and the extracts were filtered, and spectrophotometer readings were conducted (663 and 645 nm for chlorophyll a and b, respectively). The application of glyphosate and sulfumeturon methyl at larger doses were found to interfere in the carotenoid content, when compared with the control. The highest dose of glyphosate significantly reduced the content of chlorophyll and carotenoid in sugarcane, but this result was not maintained when the dose was reduced to 200 mL. The contents of chlorophyll were inversely proportional to the levels of Fe. The application of sulfumeturon methyl did not affect the levels of chlorophyll; however, the carotenoid levels were more sensitive and were reduced. The changes observed in the chlorophyll and carotenoid levels caused by the application of the herbicides may distinctly alter the metabolism of photosynthesis by absorbtion and/or conversion of energy.
pigments; secondary metabolism; degradation
