AÇÃO DO HERBICIDA TRIFLURALIN NA GERMINAÇÃO E NO DESENVOLVIMENTO INICIAL DE MILHO, SORGO E MILHETO.

Improper use of herbicides doses may contribute to residue remains on the ground and influence the germination and emergence of crops. In this study it was aimed to evaluate the germination and seedling development (corn, millet and sorghum) when in contact with the herbicide trifluralin. The research was organized in a completely randomized design in a 3x4 factorial design, with three species (corn, sorghum, millet) and four doses (control (distilled water), 1/4, 1/2 and 1x the recommended dose of the herbicide trifluralin), and each one was repeated four times. Each repetition consisted of 50 seeds. The following parameters were evaluated: standard germination test, Speed of Germination Index (SGI), seedling growth (highest root length, shoot, number of branches) and dry weight of seedlings. The average values of the results were submitted to analysis of variance, and to the significant variations, the Tukey test at 5% probability was used. The corn species was considered the most tolerant to the effects of herbicide when in contact. The product used, even in its lowest dose, caused phytotoxicity on the studied species, especially in root development. The millet was the most sensitive crop to the herbicide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]