The maximization of environmental resources exploration is necessary to maximize maize grain yield. The plant arrangement (spatial arrangement and occupied area by the plant), acts on the intraspecific competition by environmental factors. Thus, the objective of this work was to compare the equidistant plant spacing and 0.80m row width, in populations of 30000 to 105000 plants ha-1. The essay was located in a clay red alfisol area, in the FCA/UNESP-Botucatu-SP, in 2007/08 growing season. The experimental design was a randomized block in four replications, in 4.5 x 10m plots. It was evaluated ear and grain length, ear and cob diameter, number of grain rows and grain weight per ear, a thousand grains weight, ear index, ear and grain number per hectare, plant lodging and grain yield. All parameters evaluated were affected by plant densities and the spatial arrangements affected only the percentage of stalk lodged plants. In these conditions, it can be affirmed that the maize plant was influenced mainly by plant densities, not by plant arrangement.
row width; plant density; ecophysiology; production components; crop science; Zea mays
