Brachiaria as a tool for weed management in the cultivation of cabbage hybrids

The search for healthier food, the management of herbicide-resistant weeds and the scarcity of products registered for weeds in vegetable crops are challenges which demand a more sustainable management. The aim of this study was to evaluate tropical forage grass brachiaria (Urochloa decumbens) used as mulch, as a tool for weed management and in the productivity performance of cabbage hybrids. Two managements, with and without brachiaria straw (8.5 t/ha), and three cabbage hybrids, Astrus plus, Fênix and Fuyutoyo, were evaluated. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design, in a split-plot scheme, with four replicates. The management treatments were arranged in plots and the hybrids in split-plots. The main weed species were Cyperus difformis, Eleusine indica, Commelina benghalensis, Cenchrus echinatus, and Portulaca oleracea. The total weed density before hoeing was 452.8 plants/m2 in the management without straw and 8.3 plants/m2 with straw mulch. Mulch application reduced weed dry mass accumulation by 99.4%. Straw neither interfered with the productivity of the hybrids, which was 105.1 t/ha, nor affected their size and shape. We verified that forage grass brachiaria (U. decumbens) used as a mulch is a highly effective tool for managing weeds, with the potential to completely avoid the use of herbicides in cabbage cultivation, without reducing the productivity of the evaluated hybrids.