Interaction between pot size and competition with weeds on the soybean growth

ABSTRACT Evaluation of the competition effects between soybean and weed is done in protected environments. These test are usually done in pots where is studied the desired effects at different sampling/harvest times. The pots size to be chosen depends on the type of study, plant species and the variables that will be studied. Thus, the aim of this work was to verify the effect of the pots size in competitive ability of soybean with Urochloa brizantha and Bidens pilosa. The experiment was conducted in a protected environment and was arranged in a randomized block design in factorial 3 × 5 with four replications. Factors considered in the experiment were three systems of competition (soybeans grown alone, soybeans + U. brizantha and soybean + B. pilosa) and five pots size (2, 4, 7, 10 and 16 dm3). Growth soybean was affected for pots size and for U. brizantha and B. pilosa competition. U. brizantha was more competitive with soybean than B. pilosa. Pots with biggest volumetric capacity increased the effects of the competition on growth soybean.