COMPETITIVE ABILITY OF WHEAT IN ASSOCIATION WITH BIOTYPES OF Raphanus raphanistrum L. RESISTANT AND SUSCEPTIBLE TO ALS-INHIBITOR HERBICIDES

The occurrence of Raphanus raphanistrum ALS herbicide-resistant in wheat crops causes crop yield losses, which makes it necessary to understand the factors that influence the interference of this weed to develop safer management strategies. This study aimed to evaluate the competitive ability of wheat in coexistence with biotypes of R. raphanistrum that are resistant (R biotype) and susceptible (S biotypes) to ALS herbicides and to determine whether there are differences in the competitiveness of these biotypes. The experiments were conducted in a greenhouse using a completely randomized design with four replications. The treatments were placed in pots and arranged in replacement series for three experiments (1 - wheat with the R biotype; 2 - wheat with the S biotype; and 3 - the R biotype with the S biotype) at the following ratios: 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, and 0:100. The competitiveness was analyzed through diagrams applied to replacement experiments and competitiveness indices, including the evaluation of the shoot dry matter of the plants (experiments 1, 2, and 3) and the leaf area (experiment 3). The R and S biotypes significantly decreased the shoot dry matter of the wheat cultivar and demonstrated superior competitive ability compared with the culture. The interspecific competition was more important for the wheat and for the S biotype. The competitiveness of the R biotype compared to the S biotype was similar, with synergism in the leaf area production, which indicates the predominant intraspecific competition exhibited by the R biotype.