The objective of this work was to evaluate the impact of herbicides on the mycorrhizal colonization and rhizospheric acid phosphatase activity of sugarcane cultivars RB86-7515 and SP80-1816. The experiment was conducted in the field in a conventional tillage system, with 1.4 m spacing between plants and 18 buds m-1. A randomized block design was used following a 2 x 5 factorial, with four replications, in which the first factor corresponded to two sugarcane cultivars (RB867515 and SP80-1816) and the second to four herbicides (ametryn, 2,000 g ha-1; trifloxysulfuron-sodium, 22.5 g ha-1; ametryn + trifloxysulfuron-sodium, 1,463 + 37.5 g ha-1; sulfentrazone, 750 g ha-1). A control treatment without herbicide application was also included. Herbicide application was performed when sugarcane plants presented three to four leaves. The root system and the rhizospheric soil were collected for evaluation of mycorrhizal colonization and acid phosphatase activity at 7, 14, and 28 days after herbicide application (DHA). The herbicides tested did not affect acid phosphatase activity in the rhizosphere soil. RB897515 presented higher mycorrhizal colonization, 22.5 and 27.0%, compared to the control treatment at 7 and 14 DHA, respectively. After 7 DHA, the lowest mycorrhizal colonization, 11.5%, was recorded for cultivar RB867515 treated with trifloxysulfuron-sodium + ametryn. Trifloxysulfuron-sodium stimulated mycorrhizal colonization in the cultivar SP80-1816 at 14 DHA (46.3%). Both cultivars presented higher values of mycorrhizal colonization in the treatments with ametryn at 28 DHA. An increase in mycorrhizal colonization was generally observed along the cultivation period. Mycorrhizal colonization was distinct among the cultivars and herbicides tested.
trifloxysulfuron-sodium; ametryn; sulfentrazone; mycorrhization
