A phytosociological survey of the weed communities present in sunflower crop was carried out during two distinct crop stages: early development and pre-harvest. Weed species were identified and quantified according to the inventory square method (1.0 x 1.0 m), using 12 m² of sampling per area surveyed. At each stage, the survey was carried out on 54 farms of six counties of the "cerrado" (savanna region, Central Brazil) and 38 farms of eight counties of the "Pampas" (region in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, the Southernmost state in Brazil), which are the two main Brazilian sunflower production regions. Frequency, relative frequency, density, relative density, abundance, relative abundance, relative importance index, and similarity index were computed. A total of 60 weed species were identified, 17 of which were present in both regions. Asteraceae and Poaceae were the two main families among the 16 found. The main species present in the "cerrado" were Euphorbia heterophylla, Chamaesyce hirta, Ageratum conyzoides, Commelina benghalensis, Zea mays and Bidens sp. The most abundant species present in the State of Rio Grande do Sul were Bidens sp., Raphanus raphanistrum, Lolium multiflorum, Gnaphalium spicatum, Sonchus oleraceus, Euphorbia heterophylla, Sida rhombifolia, Digitaria sp. and Ipomea sp. Weed density was higher at pre-harvest than at the early stage of the crop, in both regions: 30.84 plants m-2 and 23.58 plants m-2, respectively, for the "cerrado" region and 23.19 plants m-2 FORMATAR and 21.41 plants m-2, respectively, for the "Pampas" region. The similarity index within each region was 0.91 for the "cerrado" and 0.79 for the "Pampas". Nevertheless, the region indices remained below 0.5, showing median similarity between the weed flora affecting sunflower crop at the "cerrado" and that at the "Pampas" during the two growth stages studied.
competition; phytosociology; Helianthus annuus; infestation
