Bernardes Soares

Sugarcane is one of Brazil’s main crops, and a critical period during its production is the renewal of the cane field, which should occur, on average, every five years. Most cane field renewal areas spend the period between harvest and planting of another sugarcane cycle without any other cultivation. In these cases, there is a window of opportunity for crop rotation, especially with species that bring both economic and agronomic benefits to the producer and the crop. In addition, in the raw sugarcane production system, the constant mechanization of agricultural operations and the high amount of harvest residues are important characteristics. Thus, conservationist soil management practices have been studied for this crop, mainly due to the difficulty of incorporating such residues. Both the management practices used and the preceding crop interfere with the composition of the weed community, and knowledge of the profile of this community allows for adequate weed management in the area.