Soybean (
Glicine max
[L.] Merr.) is recognized worldwide
for its economic importance; it has the ability to adapt
to environmental and management changes, particularly
when using different spacing and plant populations. This
study aimed to investigate the influence of morphological
changes of the crisscross seeding system on grain growth
and yield. Work was conducted at the Experimental Station
of Anapolis, Goiás, Brazil, of the Technical Assistance
Agency, Rural Extension and Agricultural Research
of Goiás (EMATER) for the 2013-2014 harvest. The
experimental design was a randomized block and 2 × 3 ×
3 factorial, with four replicates. Treatments consisted of
two seeding systems (conventional-in line and crossedcrisscross),
three soybean cultivars with different growth
habits (‘BRS Valiosa RR’ determined, ‘NA 7337 RR’
semi-determined, and ‘BMX Potência RR’ indeterminate)
and three sowing densities (245 000, 350 000, and 455 000
plants ha-1). Results showed that at 50 d after emergence
the cross-seeding system showed higher closing among
lines promoted by the increase in population. Leaf area and
the leaf area index were not affected by the seeding system.
Leaf area was lower with increasing plant density with
no significant difference in relation to the leaf area index.
The cross-system enabled a potential yield of 4504 kg ha-1
corresponding to an approximate 8% increase compared
with conventional sowing using equidistant lines with 0.5
m spacing.
