Tomato no tillage system is a more sustainable system. However, information about weed management in this new cultivation modality is scarce. The objective of this work was to evaluate five vegetation covers (Brachiaria decumbens, B. ruziziensis, Pennisetum glaucum, community weed and the treatment without vegetable covering) for no tillage system of the staked processing tomato crop combined with weed chemical control. P. glaucum provided the most soil cover to the tomato crop, although straw decomposition rate was higher than those of the other covers. The soil cover by the forage grasses B. decumbens, B. ruziziensis and Pennisetum glaucum reduced the density and dry mass of the weeds. The use of the community weeds for straw obtaining promoted reduced covering of the soil and larger emergency of weeds, similar to the treatment without vegetable covering. B. decumbens presented resprouting capacity during the cycle of the tomato that didn't happen with B. ruziziensis.
tomato; weeds suppression; no till; straw
