A field trial was conducted in an area of Eucalyptus grandis x Eucalyptus urophylla at Três Lagoas, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, from July 1996 to December 1997, to evaluate the effects of Brachiaria decumbens control strip variations on the initial development of eucalypt clones. The experiment consisted of two treatment groups: group 01 - with constant width control strips being kept during the first 12 months, i.e., at 0, 25, 50, 100, 125 and 150 cm on each side of the eucalypt row and, group 02: with increasing width control strips being adopted along the experimental period. At the end of the experimental period (390 days after transplanting), it was verified that the eucalypt plants that had grown both in the constant and increasing width control strips, equal to or higher than 100 cm, showed higher diameter, height and absolute growth in diameter and height. These results led to the conclusion that the control strip's minimum width should be 100 cm on each side of the eucalypt row in order to keep it free from weed interference.
Brachiaria decumbens; reforestation; weed; interference; control
