The presence of weeds in eucalypt plantations, especially in the first two years, can result in losses of productivity because it reduces the efficiency of growth resource use by the crop. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of weed interference in two Eucalyptus urophylla x Eucalyptus grandis clones on initial growth and nutrient foliar concentration in the crop and weeds. The experiment was conducted in a factorial 2 x 5 +7 in which it used two clones of Eucalyptus urophylla x Eucalyptus grandis, identified as CNB001 and CNB016, competing with five weeds Urochloa decumbens, Ipomoea nil, Commelina diffusa, Spermacoce latifolia and Panicum maximum. Also the two eucalypt clones and the five weeds were grown in monoculture as a standard for comparison. It was used a completely randomized design with four replications. The eucalypt initial growth was evaluated by plant height, stem diameter, branches number, leaf area, dry matter and nutrient content in the leaves of eucalyptus. Nutrient concentration in leaves weed also was evaluated. The CNB001 clone showed initial growth upper at the clone CNB016. Free of weed interference both clones presented similar foliar contents for most nutrients. Clone CNB016 was more sensitive to competition with weeds than clone CNB001, being its initial growth most harmed by Ipomoea nil and concentration of nutrients reduced by Panicum maximum, Urochloa decumbens and Commelina diffusa. Panicum maximum showed greater interference with clone CNB001 while Ipomoea nil showed low negative influence in growth and nutrient concentration of crop. The weeds have high ability to extract nutrients from the soil in competition with Eucalyptus urophylla x Eucalyptus grandis clones. The interference imposed on the culture is dependent on weed species and eucalypt genotype.
competition; eucalypt; integrated weed management