The use of desiccants on maize crop may benefit farmers, especially by anticipating soil availability for the establishment of a new crop, and for the earlier commercialization of the product. The herbicides Paraquat and Diquat are classified as desiccants and are the most prominent in the market. The objective of this work was to evaluate their effectiveness as desiccants applied before corn harvesting. The experiment was carried out at EMBRAPA-Milho e Sorgo, Sete Lagoas, MG, Brazil, by using the following treatments: application of Paraquat and Diquat at 14 and 7 days before and 7 days after physiological maturity (PM) and application at PM. Both products were sprayed at doses of 400 g ha-1. The cultivar used was BRS 3101 and the parameters were evaluated at 0, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 days after application. Thirty maize grains were harvested from 6 ears for evaluation of grain moisture and grain dry matter weight. At harvesting, the parameters evaluated were: plant and ear height, ear index, grain and ear production and grain sanity. The desiccants evaluated did not cause any differential effects for most characteristics, although visually Paraquat was observed to act more rapidly than Diquat in destroying the green leaf tissue. Statistical differences detected between the two desiccants, revealed that Diquat was more efficient than Paraquat. Application of the desiccants at 14 days prior to PM reduced grain yield due to grain dry matter weight decrease. However, PM was anticipated by two days and harvesting by four days. This was more evident with Paraquat. Grain production obtained with control was similar to that obtained with the best desiccant treatments. The use of Paraquat also resulted in grains with greater incidence of Fusarium subglutinans, which causes "burnt grains" in maize. Desiccant application 14 days before PM made maize most susceptible to this fungus infection.
Zea mays; herbicides; grain moisture
