A study on the effect of vegetation cover and weed management periods on plantings of Pinus taeda was carried out in the Province of Corrientes, Argentina, in 1999. Due to the area characteristics, low flatlands, 1.80 m wide x 0.60 m high ridges were built for seedling planting. Following, plots with 3 rows of 12 plants each, at the spacing of 1.75 m between plants and 4 m between the center of the ridges, were installed. Only 10 plants in the central ridge were measured in order to evaluate the different methods and intensity of weed management in survival rate (%), initial height development (cm), stem diameter (cm) and seedling yield (cm³) of Pinus taeda. The following control methods were evaluated: chemical control in the planting area (ridge) and chemical control in the whole area were evaluated twice: one and two years of chemical control, with control treatment and without control treatment. The experimental design was completely randomized with three repetitions. Significant differences were found between the chemical control treatments compared to the treatment without control. The results showed that the chemical control during 2 periods is beneficial, and no differences between control methods (ridge and total area) were found. Survival data of Pinus taeda seedlings were examined by the Tukey's test and showed no significant differences between the means at 5% probability.
Silviculture; forest protection; herbicides
