Yield components of soybean cultivars under sowing densities

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to assess yield components and grain yield of soybean cultivars in response to sowing densities. For this, two soybean cultivars and five sowing densities were tested, in a two-factor scheme. The following yield components were measured by the end of the cycle: plant height; insertion height of the first pod; number of nodes per plant; number of pods with one, two, three and four grains; number of pods per plant; number of grains per plant; weight of a thousand grains; humidity and grain yield. Sowing densities did not cause significant variations of grain yield (bags ha-1) for any cultivar, however, higher populational densities promoted a reduction in the number of pods with two and three grains, as well as a reduction in the total number of pods and grains per plant for both cultivars. Cultivar NS 5700 IPRO was the most productive, with a higher number of pods with two and three grains and number of pods and grains per plant.