Hormesis effect of glyphosate on common bean cultivars

Abstract

Although being well-known, the hormesis effect has not yet a defined practical application on the development of agricultural technology. Thus, this study was carried out in Selvíria, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil, in order to evaluate the effect of glyphosate applied at low doses (0 g ha^-1, 10 g ha^-1, 20 g ha^-1, 30 g ha^-1 and 40 g ha^-1 of active ingredient) on the development and yield of bean cultivars (Carioca precoce - type I, Juriti - type II and Pérola - type III), irrigated by aspersion, in the autumn/winter of 2009 and 2010. The experimental design was randomized blocks, with 15 treatments arranged in a 5x3 factorial scheme and four replications. It was possible to conclude that the 100 grains mass decreased when submitted to higher glyphosate sub doses, and that the application of glyphosate sub doses did not affect the common bean yield, when the three cultivars were evaluated altogether, however, when each cultivar was individually analyzed, an increase of up to 10% in yield was observed for the Juriti cultivar.