This research had the purposes to evaluate the time to achieve closed canopy and leaf area index of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) and identify the best space arrangements for higher grain yields of cultivar MG/BR 46 (Conquista). The experiment was carried out at the experimental fields of Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz" (USP/ESALQ), São Paulo State University, in Piracicaba, State of São Paulo, Brazil, during the 2001/2002 growing season. The 30 treatments consisted of different space arrangements, combining 6 row spacing (0.20; 0.30; 0.40; 0.50; 0.60; 0.70 m) with 5 different populations (70,000; 140,000; 210,000; 280,000; 350,000 plants ha-1), in a complete randomized blocks design with subdivided plots and three replications. The evaluated characteristics were: time to achieve closed canopy; leaf area index and grain yield. The conclusions are: a) in the cultivar MG/BR - 46 (Conquista) cultivated under 0.20 to 0.60 m row spacing, the leaf area index maximum is at the beginning of seed-filling stage (R5); b) the leaf area index becomes higher proportionally with the increase of population; c) the factor that more influenced to shorten the time to achieve closed canopy was the spacement.
sowing density; row spacing; soil covering; crop canopy
