The degree of weed interference in corn yield varies, depending on which component is mostly affected by the interference, and on its contribution to corn productivity. An experiment was conducted at Eldorado do Sul-RS, Brazil, during 1998/99 growing season, to determine the effect of Brachiaria plantaginea (BRAPL) interference in the agronomic characteristics, yield components and grain yield of corn. The corn hybrid AG 5011 was planted under no-till system. The crop was fertilized at planting with 600 kg ha-1 of NPK 5-20-20, and late applications with 100 and 200 kg ha-1 of N at 20 and 40 days after crop emergence (DAE). In order to obtain variable densities of BRAPL in the treatments, plots were treated with five different herbicides applied in preemergence at various rates. BRAPL density ranged from 0 to 160 plants per m². Corn plant height was not affected by BRAPL, whereas the number of sterile plants increased and the number of ears per plant decreased with increased weed infestation. Number of grain per ear, grain weight and grain yield decreased in a sigmoidal pattern with increased weed density. The yield component that contributed the most to corn grain yield was number of grain per ear.
weed; competition; no-till
