Agronomic performance of soybean genotypes submitted to different population densities in the city of Uberlândia - MG

Abstract

Sowing density is widely studied in the soybean crop in order to define the best plant population for each cultivar available on the market. The objective of this work was to evaluate the agronomic traits of three soybean geno­types (UFUS LVR, UFUS 7910, and UFUS 8301) in four population densities (12; 14; 16; 18 pl m^-1), in Uberlândia-MG. The design was a randomized complete block with four replicates, with sowing performed on February 12, 2016. The following were evaluated: plant height at flowering (PHF) and maturity (PHM); number of branched nodes (NBN); lateral branch inclination (LBI); first pod insertion height (FPIH); number of pods per plant (NPP); number of seeds per pod (NSP); hundred-grain weight (HGW); and grain yield (kg ha^-1). There were sig­nificant interactions between genotypes and densities for all characters, except for LBI and NSP. When increasing the sowing density from 14 to 18 pl m^-1, cultivar UFUS 7910 showed a reduction in plant height at maturity, and strain UFUS LRV had the first pod insertion height increased. The hundred-grain weight was not altered for culti­vars UFUS LRV and UFUS 7910 when increasing the density from 12 to 18 pl m^-1. For the three genotypes, there was a reduction in grain yield when sown in a higher sowing density (density of 18 pl m^-1). The densities of 16 pl m^-1 and 12 pl m^-1 provided better grain yields for genotypes UFUS LVR and UFU 7910, respectively. The densi­ties of 12 pl m^-1 and 14 pl m^-1 allowed a greater number of pods and higher yield for cultivar UFUS 8301.