Effects of soil incorporation of sicklepod (senna obtusifolia) seeds colonized of alternaria cassiae on the control this weed

Abstract

In the last decade, the excessive use of chemical control resulted in changes in the weed communities, which led to strong shifting in their population and finally in resistance to several herbicides. This is a very good opportunity to use biological management as a complementary method to control the selected weeds. Sicklepod seeds colonized by Alternaria cassiae were amended to the soil to control Senna obtusifolia plants. Two experiments were conducted under greenhouse conditions, where the colonized seeds (inoculum) were applied to the soil by dispersal over its surface and incorporation in the 2-3 cm layer. After fungal application, S. obtusifolia seeds previously scarified with sulfuric acid were sown in pots. The experimental design was the completely randomized with four replications. A factorial arrangement of treatments was used and the variables were: a) two granulations of inoculum (whole and chopped colonized seeds); b) four inoculum concentrations (10, 6.5, 3.3, and 1.7 ton/ha); c) control plot without any inoculum incorporation. The evaluated parameter were counting of the number of emerged plants and weighing of dry matter accumulation in the aerial and roots tissues of the reminiscent plants. In both trials, there was a tendency to reduce the number of reminiscent plants and of the dry matter accumulation at aerial parts, as the amount of inoculum was increased. There were not important differences between the inoculum constituted by whole or chopped seeds.