BENEFITS TO YIELD AND PROFITS OF GARLIC AND BEET INTERCROPPING UNDER 3 WEED MANAGEMENT EPOCHS

The research was carried out with intercropped cultivation of garlic a nd beet, in Cacador, SC, Brazil. Four seeding epochs for beet (0, 15, 30 and 45 days after garlic planting) and three management systems for weeds (with herbicides, without control and with frequent weeding) we re tested. It was hoped to determine the effects of this intercropping , in time and space, seeking the benefits in weed control, efficient l and use, productivity, commercial quality, and profitability. The rand omized block design was in split-plots. The epochs represented the plo ts, and the management, the subplots, with four replicates. Napromide at 750 g/ha did not cause symptoms of intoxication in the garlic plant s, nor in the beet. All the treatments in epochs at the initiation of intercropping, in three management systems for weeds, presented effici ent land use values greater than 1. The profitability of the intercrop ping of garlic and beet only became evident in the management involvin g frequent weeding; in all epochs, profits were greater than for the r espective epochs of monoculture of beet and monoculture of garlic.