STARTER NITROGEN FERTILIZATION IN DIFFERENT SOYBEAN CULTIVARS

Abstract

Although several studies have demonstrated that biological nitrogen fixation can provide the nitrogen required by soybean, doubts regarding the need for nutrient application at sowing, specifically "starter N," in early soybean cultivars persist, particularly in high-yielding crop fields. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of starter nitrogen fertilization on soybean cultivars with different maturity cycles. The experiment was conducted at Fazenda Recanto, in Carmo do Rio Claro, Minas Gerais state, during two crop seasons (2016/2017 and 2017/2018), using a randomized complete block design with split-plot arrangement and four replications. In the 2016/17 cropping season, the plots were comprised of three soybean cultivars (M6410 IPRO, NS7300 IPRO, and TEC7849 IPRO). In the 2017/18 cropping season, the plots consisted of four cultivars (M5917 IPRO, M6410 IPRO, AS3680 IPRO, and NS7670 RR). The subplots were assigned four nitrogen doses at sowing (0, 10, 20, 40 kg ha-1). Grain yield, number of nodules per plant, mass of dry nodules per plant, number of grains and pods per plant, plant height and insertion of the first legume were evaluated. Experimental data were subjected to analysis of variance, and means were compared using the Scott-Knott test at 5% probability. The nitrogen rates at sowing did not influence soybean yields and agronomic characters of cultivars evaluated in the cropping 2016/17 and 2017/18. Increasing doses of nitrogen inhibited soybean nodulation.

Keywords

• fixação biológica de nitrogênio
• Glycine max
• nitrogênio em semeadura
• produtividade