Grasses have a high ability to produce straw under no-tillage system. However, these plants can reduce the growth of crops, caused by allelopathic effects or competition for nutrients. An experiment was conducted to study the early growth and nutrition of cotton as affected by residues of Congo grass (Brachiaria ruziziensis) cropped before in the same pots. Cotton was grown in glass-windowed pots with a combination of congo grass roots, with shoot residues being left or not. Cotton growth and N accumulation were decreased in the presence of congo grass roots in the soil, probably due to N immobilization. However, these plants accumulated more P. When residues of congo grass shoots were left on the soil surface, cotton K uptake was increased.
Gossypium hirsutum; root growth; rhizotron; no-till system; straw residues
