Growth habit effect on development of modern soybean cultivars after beginning of bloom in Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

There was a change in the genetics of soybeans grown in southern Brazil from the 2000s, which requires investment in basic and detailed studies about growth and development. The purpose in this paper was to characterize the overlap period of vegetative and reproductive phases, growth in height and the emission of nodes after the beginning of flowering in determinate and indeterminate cultivars in different sowing dates and soybean regions in Rio Grande do Sul. Field experiments were conducted during the growing seasons of 2012/2013 and 2013/2014, in Santa Maria, Itaqui, Frederico Westphalen, Capão do Leão, Júlio de Castilhos and in 3 commercial soybean crops in Restinga Sêca, Tupanciretã and Água Santa. Overlap determination (in days) of vegetative and reproductive phases, difference in the number of nodes and height in R8 and R1 were estimated. The cultivars with indeterminate growth had higher overlap period of vegetative and reproductive phases, height growth and emission of nodes after the beginning of flowering in comparison with the determinate cultivars. The magnitude of the overlap values of vegetative and reproductive phases and of the increase in height and number of nodes after R1 ranged with the type of growth, maturity group, location, and sowing date.