DIFFERENT SOYBEAN PLANT POPULATIONS UNDER CENTRAL PIVOT IRRIGATION

ABSTRACT Planting density can influence the competitiveness among plants mainly by water, nutrients and solar radiation, directly affecting yield. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the productivity of different soybean cultivars at different planting populations under irrigated and rainfed conditions. The experiment was conducted during the 2014/15 growing season, under center pivot irrigation in Chapadão do Sul – MS, Brazil. The experimental design was randomized complete block design with split-plot, as follows: Irrigated and Rainfed (plots) x Six cultivars (subplots) x Three Plant Populations (sub-subplots) with 4 replications. The irrigation management was realized by Penman-Monteith-FAO method. The cultivars used were: NA 5909 RR, DM 5958 IPRO, Anta 82 RR, M 7110 IPRO, Desafio RR and M 7739 IPRO. Populations indicated by the holders of the seeds were tested, and also population 20% above and 20% below with the hypothesis that in different humidity conditions, different cultivars may have different answers depending on their populations. In rainfed condition productivity and mass of one hundred grains were influenced by water deficit. Cultivar Desafio RR presented the best performance under irrigation, with productivity of 6174 kg ha−1.