The interference of weeds in maize production may be reflected in grain yield losses that vary as a function of the density, stage and degree of aggressiveness of the species present. In the agricultural ecosystem, crops and weeds demand light, water, nutrients and space, which are frequently not available in sufficient quantities, leading to competition. The aim of this work was to determine the period of interference of weed plants, in particular of naked crabgrass (Digitaria nuda) on maize crop in the first and second harvest. The treatments were defined as increasing periods of coexistence and increasing control of weed community (7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, and 56 days), two more controls, a control including one with weed control until the end of the culture cycle and another with coexistence until the harvest. For each period, were evaluated the stand of maize plants, length of ear, number of grains per row, number of rows per ear, cob, 100-grain weight, and grain productivity. The data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance using the F test, with average treatments compared using Tukey's test at 5% probability. Crop productivity was evaluated by means of regressions, the critical periods of interference were estimated. The critical timing of weed removal was 25 days for both harvests. The critical weed free period was 54 and 27 days for the first and second harvest respectively. For the conditions of the first and second harvest, the critical period of weed control was of 29 and 2 days respectively. Key words: Digitaria nuda. Naked crabgrass. Competition. Phytosociology. Weed interference. Zea mays.
ResumoA interferência de plantas daninhas no milho pode refletir em perdas na produtividade de grãos que variam em função da densidade, estágio e grau de agressividade das espécies presentes. No ecossistema agrícola, a cultura e planta daninha possuem demandas por luz, água, nutrientes e espaço, que na maioria das vezes, não estão disponíveis em quantidades suficientes, estabelecendo-se a competição. O objetivo desse trabalho foi determinar o período de interferência de plantas de plantas daninhas em especial do capim-colchão (Digitaria nuda) na cultura do milho na primeira e segunda safra. Os tratamentos foram divididos em períodos crescentes de convivência e de controle da comunidade infestante (7; 14; 21; 28; 35; 42; 49 e 56 dias), mais duas testemunhas, uma com controle até o fim do ciclo da cultura e outra com convivência até a colheita. Para cada período foram avaliadas o estande de plantas de milho, comprimento das espigas, número de grãos por fileiras, número de fileiras por espiga, massa de 100 grãos e produtividade de grãos. Os dados obtidos foram submetidos à análise de variância