Defoliation percentage in two soybean cultivars at different growth stages

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the agronomic variables due to the effects of different levels of defoliation in the phenological phases of two soybean cultivars. The experiment was conducted during the 2011/2012 season, in a randomized block design with three replicates, in a 2 x 4 x 5 factorial scheme. Two cultivars were exposed to defoliations of 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% at the stages of V4, V9, R3 and R5. The cultivar ‘NK 7059RR’ showed less sensitivity to defoliation than the cultivar ‘IN 4990RG’. 25% defoliation levels reduced the yield of the cultivar ‘IN 4990RG’, while levels of 75 and 100% reduce the number of grains per pod in both cultivars. The defoliation performed in the V4 stage lead to lower grain yield than defoliation in V9. The most sensitive stages to defoliation are R3 and R5, where there is a greater reduction in the production potential of soybeans.