Soybean Population Management Seeking Greater Grain Productivity

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this research was to evaluate plant growth, soybean grain yield and production cost depending on the use of different populations.   Theoretical reference: Among management practices, plant population is an extremely important stage for the establishment of soybean crops. In many cases, just changing the plant population is enough to result in high gains in crop grain productivity.   Methodology: A randomized block design was used, with four treatments and four replications. The treatments consisted of densities of 200, 250, 300 and 350 thousand seeds ha-1. Plant height, insertion height of the first pod, number of pods per plant, number of grains per pod, mass of one thousand grains and grain productivity were evaluated.   Results and conclusion: Populations influenced grain productivity, with the highest productivity being achieved in the population of 250 thousand, 5905 kg ha-1. It was concluded that sowing density affects the number of pods per plant and soybean grain productivity. The density of 250 thousand seeds ha-1 was the one that provided the highest productivity of soybeans and the lowest sowing cost.   Research implications: Determining the best population of soybean plants in different locations is essential to reduce producer costs.   Originality/value: Most research works focus on the use of inputs, disregarding that the plant population can affect crop performance and production costs.