Weed infestation and growth of cowpea in soil managed with solarization and mulching

Portuguese. The growth and production of agricultural crops are greatly hampered by weed interference. The objective of this study was to evaluate weed infestation and growth and dry mass of cowpea cultivated in soil with solarization and mulching. The research was carried in the Agricultural Sciences Center of the Federal University of Alagoas, Rio Largo, AL. A completely randomized experimental design was used, with eight treatments and four replications. The treatments consisted of the combination of soil with and without solarization together with different mulching, such as T1: Os tratamentos consistiram da combinação de solo com e sem solarização junto a diferentes coberturas mortas, como sendo T1: solarized soil with mulching of castor bean, T2: solarized soil with mulching of rattlepod, T3: solarized soil with mulching of spontaneous vegetation, T4: solarized soil without mulching, T5: non-solarised soil with mulching of castor bean, T6: non-solarised soil with mulching of rattlepod, T7: non-solarised soil with mulching of spontaneous vegetation and T8: non-solarised soil and without mulching. The number of weeds was higher in treatments without mulching, independent of solarization, T4 and T8. Already, the growth of the plants and the number of bean leaves were higher in the solarized soil with mulching of castor bean, T1, and lower in the non-solarized soil and without mulching, T8, in contrary to the dry mass of the root. Solarization with solar collector when associated with mulching inhibits the infestation of weeds in cowpea, while its growth is benefited by solarization + mulching, by mulching without solarization, as well as the solarization without mulching.