This work studied the influence of different plant densities and Roundup ReadyTM (RR) soybean genotypes, on some morphoagronomic characteristics of soybean sown in two distinct crops. The experiment was carried out in Campos de Cima da Serra in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in the 2006/07 and 2007/08 growing seasons with CD 213RR and BRS 255RR cultivars, at densities of 12, 18, 24, 30 and 36 suitableplantsm-2. The experimental layout used was randomized blocks with four repetitions. Plant height, stem diameter, number of ramifications per plant, number of pods per plant, number of grains per plant, number of grains per pod, mass of a thousand grains and yield of grains per hectare were evaluated. Weed plant management with glyphosate in two applications (pre-sowing and V4) efficiently prevented weed competition. Increasing RR soybean plant density led to a linear increase in plant height (0.5 to 0.9 cm per plant m-2), influenced by genotype and crop year. Stem diameter reduced linearly with an increase in plant density (-0.03 to -0.2 mmper plantm-2). The number of ramifications per plant decreased with an increase in density (-0.05 to -0.19 branch per plant). In the second harvest, grain yield and mass of a thousand grains were less affected by drought and frost at the end of the crop cycle, more accentuated in cultivar CD 213RR. A combination of a greater number of plantsm-2 reduced the number of pods per plant and grains per pod, though by different magnitudes between cultivars, explained by the interaction among various factors. However, grain yield was not affected by the different densities tested, being rather influenced by the growing season.
agronomic characteristics; Glycine max; plant population; grain yield
