This study was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of different herbicide management systems in weed control and the development and yield of different Roundup Ready® soybean cultivars. A randomized block experimental design with four replicates was used under a 5x5 factorial scheme, using five herbicide application systems: [(1) glyphosate (1.080 g ha-1) + 2.4-D (241.8 g ha-1) at 14 days before sowing (DAS), paraquat + diuron (400 + 200 g ha-1) at the sowing day, and glyphosate (960 g ha-1) at 35 days after crop emergence (DAE); (2) glyphosate (1.080 g ha-1) + 2.4-D (241.8 g ha-1) at 14 DAS, paraquat + diuron (400 + 200 g ha-1) at the sowing day, and glyphosate (480 g ha-1) 17 at DAE; (3) glyphosate (1.080 g ha-1) + 2.4-D (241.8 g ha-1) at 14 DAS, and glyphosate (960 g ha-1) at 35 DAE; (4) glyphosate (1.080 g ha-1) + 2.4-D (241.8 g ha-1) at 14 DAS and glyphosate (480 g ha-1) at 17 days after plant emergence; and (5) control - glyphosate (1.080 g ha-1) + 2.4-D (241.8 g ha-1) at 14 DAS, without herbicide application at post-emergence] combined with five RR® soybean varieties (M-SOY 8585, P98R91, Valiosa, CD 219 and TMG 108),comprising 25 treatments. All herbicide application systems controlled the weed species Chamaesyce hirta, Alternanthera tenella, Euphorbia heterophylla, Spermacoce latifolia and Tridax procumbens. This control was superior to that without herbicide application at post-emergence, being thus efficient in controlling those species. "System 3" showed a lower control level of the species Spermacoce latifolia, Tridax procumbens and Chamaesyce hirta, the last one only in the plots sowed with the cultivar CD 219. Herbicide management systems affected the height of the soybean plants, with the lowest values being found for TMG108 cv. under "system 3" application. Although soybean grain yield did not differ among the herbicide application systems, all were superior to that of the control. TMG 108 cv. showed the highest grain yield in all the herbicide application systems even in the control plots; however, it did not differ from P98R91 cv. under the herbicide application "systems 1, 3 and 4 " and in the control, neither from M-SOY 8585 cv. under "system 3."
glyphosate; Glycine max; weeds
