Abstract
ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate the behavior of soybean plants subjected to irrigation management with controlled water deficits in different phenological stages. The research was conducted in an experimental area of the Federal University of Tocantins (UFT), in Palmas-TO, Brazil. The experimental design was randomized blocks with four replicates, and treatments arranged in a split-plot scheme. The plots consisted of irrigation levels that induced plants to water deficit in the vegetative stage, reproductive stage and throughout the entire cycle, based on potential crop evapotranspiration (ETpc). The subplots corresponded to two soybean cultivars (M9144RR and TMG1288RR). The following agronomic variables were evaluated: days until flowering, days until maturation, plant height, first pod height, number of pods per plant, stem diameter, leaf area and yield. Irrigation management with moderate water deficit, 50% of ETpc, in the vegetative stage, promoted the best agronomic characteristics and contributed to increase the yield of the evaluated soybean cultivars, especially M9144RR.
Highlights
Originated in Eastern Asia (Lee et al, 2011), soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) is an annual herbaceous leguminous plant and the high contents of oil and protein in its grains place it among the main sources of vegetal oil and protein for human and animal consumption in the world, besides being currently one of the products with highest importance in the Brazilian economy (Barbosa et al, 2013)
Fereres & Soriano (2007) proposed the concept of deficit irrigation, which is the application of water depths lower than those estimated by the traditional methodologies, in the different phenological stages
In this context, considering the relevance of the subject and the national importance of the soybean crop, this study aimed to evaluate the agronomic performance and yield of soybean subjected to irrigation managements with controlled water deficit in different phenological stages
Summary
Originated in Eastern Asia (Lee et al, 2011), soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) is an annual herbaceous leguminous plant and the high contents of oil and protein in its grains place it among the main sources of vegetal oil and protein for human and animal consumption in the world, besides being currently one of the products with highest importance in the Brazilian economy (Barbosa et al, 2013).The success of all this complex, is highly dependent on climatic conditions (Morando et al, 2014), especially with respect to the irregular distribution of rains, since water is considered as one of the most required resources.The soybean crop needs, on average, 550 to 800 mm of water during the entire cycle, which varies depending on the area, sowing period, type of soil and cultivar sown (Farias et al, 2001). Growing annual vegetables show different phenological stages along their cycles, each one with a different water demand (Grieu et al, 2008). Fereres & Soriano (2007) proposed the concept of deficit irrigation, which is the application of water depths lower than those estimated by the traditional methodologies, in the different phenological stages. In this context, considering the relevance of the subject and the national importance of the soybean crop, this study aimed to evaluate the agronomic performance and yield of soybean subjected to irrigation managements with controlled water deficit in different phenological stages
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