The cultivation of irrigated rice under water-seeded rice system has allowed the development of aquatic weed plants such as Sagittaria montevidensis (giant arrowhead), which has developed biotypes resistant to ALS-inhibiting herbicides in the state of Santa Catarina. This research aimed to investigate the morphologic responses of giant arrowhead to water level variation, under controlled environmental conditions. The treatments were represented by the following flood conditions: saturated soil, 5, 10 and 20 cm of water submersion, arranged in a completely randomized design, with five repetitions. Seed germination was promoted by the presence of water. Submersion depth increased plant height through petide lengthening of the spatulate and sagittate foliar blade size leaves. Water sheet depth variation did not modify the number of plants, dry mass, the number of leaves and roots, linear leaf size, spatulate and sagittate foliar blade size and the inflorescence axis of the S. montevidensis plants. The giant arrowhead leaves of the same morphological type did not differ histologically when developed under the tested water depths.
germination; management; water sheets; weeds; giant arrowhead
