The objective of this work was to evaluate the production, persistence and the effect of different cover crops on weed control and cotton yield in no-tillage system. The treatments included: Pennisetum glaucum; Brachiaria ruziziensis; Sorghum bicolor; Eleusine coracana; Crotalaria juncea; Crotalaria spectabilis; Avena strigosa; Raphanus sativus; P. glaucum + C. juncea; P. glaucum + C. spectabilis; B. ruziziensis + C. juncea; B. ruziziensis + C. spectabilis; S. bicolor + C. juncea; S. bicolor + C. spectabilis; E. coracana + C. juncea; E. coracana + C. spectabilis; A. strigosa + R. sativus; P. glaucum + R. sativus; fallow. The cover crops were sown in late summer, after soybean harvest. The cotton cultivar BRS 269-Buriti was sown nine months later. The experiment was carried out in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Dry matter of B. ruziziensis, B. ruziziensis + C. juncea, B. ruziziensis + C. spectabilis and P. glaucum + R. sativus was above 6.8 t ha-1. The dry matter produced by B. ruziziensis provided sufficient soil cover during the cotton cycle. Residues of B. ruziziensis, B. ruziziensis + C. juncea and B. ruziziensis + C. spectabilis reduced weed incidence until the time of cotton sowing, lasting until the initial stages of cotton development. The use of both R. sativus and A. strigosa, alone or in mixtures, resulted in reduced yield of cotton fiber.
Gossypium hirsutum L. r. latifolium; cover crops; dry matter; no-tillage; weeds
