Herbicide efficacy in raw sugar cane is directly influenced by the amount and distribution of straw in the area, as well as by the occurrence of the first rainfall exceeding 20 mm after application, since straw is able to intercept the herbicide before it strikes the soil. Within this context, the present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and performance of the herbicide amicarbazone in weed control in raw cane. Thus, an experiment was conducted under controlled conditions considering different doses of amicarbazone (D1 = 1.05 kg ha-1; D2 = 0875 kg ha-1; D3 = 0700 kg ha-1 and D4 = 0525 kg ha-1) and herbicide applications on 5 tonnes of straw ha-1 on the ground and covered with 5 tonnes of straw. ha-1; in addition to spraying on the ground without straw cover, resulting in 12 treatments. At 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after application (DAA) the percentage of control of the weed species Ipomoea grandifolia, Brachiaria decumbens, Merremia cissoides and Euphorbia heterophylla was evaluated. The results obtained showed that regardless of the type of weed assessed, the highest rates of control were observed when amicarbazone was applied on the straw, followed by simulated precipitation of 30 mm of rain and in treatments in which the herbicide was applied directly into the soil without straw. Thus, for the species I. grandifolia, M. cissoides and E. heterophylla, all the treatments had excellent control (grade 6 to 100%) after 14 DAA; for B. decumbens, complete control occurred at 28 DAA. Therefore, we can conclude that amicarbazone is an excellent alternative for the management of these species of weeds in raw cane.
herbicide; convolvulaceae; sugar cane
