Flamethrower Application Time in Weed Control1

ABSTRACT In the organic system, one of the biggest obstacles faced by the farmer is the management and control of weeds. In this context, the use of heat treatment with fire may be seen as an interesting alternative, because of its characteristic of not leaving chemical residues in the soil and water. The objective was to evaluate the effect of the time of application of the flamethrower in weed control as compared to manual control and mechanical methods. The experiment was arranged in a randomized block design with four replications and seven treatments, totaling 28 plots with dimensions of 1.0 x 1.0 m. The treatments consisted of five application times for the flamethrower (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 s m-2) and two types of weeding (manual and mechanical). Infestation percentage, fresh and dry weight assessments of the remaining weeds in each plot were made. The application of 10 s m-2 for the flamethrower was efficient in controlling weeds in early stage of development and it can be used as an alternative to mechanical and manual weeding, in weed control.