Relação entre o consumo de água e a absorção de herbicidas em plantas daninhas e cana-de-açúcar

The objective of this work was to evaluate the relationship between water consumption by sugarcane plants and weeds and herbicide absorption. Two experiments were carried out. In the first, water consumption was measured by daily weighing the weed species Digitaria horizontalis, Panicum maximum, Ipomoea grandifolia, Ipomoea hederifolia, Brachiaria decumbens, as well as the sugarcane cultivars PO8862, SP80 3280, and RB83 5486. In the second experiment, the concentrations of amicarbazone, imazapic, tebuthiuron and hexazinone in the xylem of the three sugarcane cultivars and I. grandifolia were measured using the Schollander pump and chromatography and mass spectrometry (LC MS). The transpiration rate and, consequently, the water consumption rate were determinants of the rate of herbicide absorption by the different weed species and sugarcane cultivars. The herbicide concentrations in the xylem sap varied according to the species and herbicide in contact with the root system, indicating that easy absorption by the roots can be crucial to the effectiveness and/or selectivity of herbicides.