Evaluation of Soybean Cultivars of Contrasting Cycles according to the Level of Investment in Fertilization

The objective of the present study was to characterize the duration of the phenological stages, the agronomic characteristics and grain yield in soybean cultivars with contrasting cycles and indeterminate growth type, submitted to different fertilization investment environments under no-tillage system in the central region of Minas Gerais. The work was conducted under field conditions, in an experimental area of Embrapa Maize and Sorghum, in Sete Lagoas, MG, in the harvest of 2015/2016. Ten soybean cultivars with different relative maturity groups (RMG) were studied, representing almost all RMG materials currently sown in Minas Gerais, in two environments with different levels of fertilizer investment. The variables were submitted to analysis of joint variance, in order to verify the existence of interaction between cultivars and investment in fertilization environments. Fertilizer investment levels influence grain yield of soybean cultivars of contrasting cycles. The higher height of the soybean plants implies higher lodging and lower grain yield. This situation is aggravated by the greater investment in fertilization. The difference between the cycles of the cultivars is in the duration of the vegetative stages, being greater in the later cultivars.