Mineral supplementation of soybean seeds with different initial nutrient levels

ABSTRACT. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of the chemical composition of soybean seeds and the efficiency of seed mineral supplementation on physiological quality and field performance. Two seed lots (high and low levels of mineral nutrition), with or without supplemental macro- and micronutrients, of three soybean cultivars (BMX Potência RR, BMX Turbo RR, and BMX Magna RR) were used. For the laboratory experiment, a completely randomized design with four replications was used. To evaluate the physiological quality of the seeds, the water content, first count, germination, 1,000-seed weight, and length and dry weight of the seedling were determined. For the field experiment, a randomized block design with four replications was used, and seedling emergence and grain yield were evaluated. Seeds with higher nutrient content produced seedlings of greater vigor and higher grain yield for all of the cultivars studied. The use of mineral supplementation in seed lots with low nutrient content resulted in greater vigor under laboratory conditions. The increase in grain yield after mineral supplementation depends on the quality of the seed lot.