ABSTRACT Late sowings anticipate flowering and decrease the soybean vegetative plasticity. These changes may limit the ability of plants to tolerate leaf area losses. The objective of this research was to evaluate the sowing date effect on soybean tolerance to defoliation at the beginning of pod formation. The experiment was set in Lages (Santa Catarina State, Brazil) during the 2016/2017 growing season. Two sowing dates were tested: November 2, 2016 (preferential) and December 15, 2016 (late). Five levels of defoliation (0%, 17%, 33%, 50% and 67%) of cultivar NA 5909 RG were imposed at the R3 growth stage. Grain yield showed a quadratic response to defoliation, ranging from 4,313 to 6,478 kg ha-1 in the preferential sowing date and from 3,374 to 4,443 kg ha-1 in the late sowing date. The plants tolerated up to 45.6% of defoliation in early sowing and 55.8% in late sowing, without yield losses, in comparison to the control. The highest level of defoliation reduced grain yield by 26.9% and 13.4% in early and late sowings, respectively, compared to the control. The delay of sowing date did not increase the sensitivity of cultivar NA 5909 RG to defoliation at the beginning of pod formation.

ABSTRACT Soybean tolerance to defoliation may be affected by population density, as the plant population interferes with the crop leaf area index . This study aimed to evaluate the effect of defoliation at the beginning of pod formation on the agronomic performance of soybean at different plant densities. The experiment was conducted under field conditions in Campos Novos, SC, Brazil, during 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 growing season. The experimental design was a randomized block in a split-plot arrangement. The main plot consisted of three densities (100,000, 300,000, and 500,000 plants ha−1), whereas the subplots consisted of the cultivar NA 5909 RG submitted to five defoliation levels (0, 16.6, 33.3, 50, and 66.6%). Grain yield ranged from 4,219 to 5,356 kg ha−1 in the 2016/2017 growing season and 3,732 to 5,186 kg ha−1 in the 2017/2018 growing season. Plant density did not interfere with the grain yield response to defoliation performed at the beginning of pod formation. The 16.6% defoliation increase grain yield by 7.5 and 5.6% relative to the control in 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 growing seasons, respectively. The soybean tolerate defoliation of up to 33.3% at R3 with no significant decrease in grain yield, regardless of the plant density.

ABSTRACT. Water deficiency reduces leaf expansion and photosynthetic efficiency, potentially reducing the ability to withstand leaf area (LA) loss. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of water restriction on soybean tolerance to defoliation in the vegetative and reproductive periods of development. Two experiments were conducted in a greenhouse located in Lages, Santa Catarina State Brazil, during the 2017/2018 growing season. Cultivar NA 5909 RG was subjected to three WR levels (none, moderate, and severe) and five defoliation levels (0, 17, 33, 50, and 67%). Defoliation occurred at the V6 stage in the first experiment and R3 in the second. WR occurred for 7 days after defoliation. LA at R2 and R5 after defoliation at V6 and R3 decreased by 27.5 and 64.6%, respectively, regardless of WR. LA between V6 and R2 was not influenced by WR or defoliation. Moderate or severe WR reduced plant ability to recover LA between R3 and R5. Severe WR decreased grain production by 22.2% in the vegetative period and 21.2% per plant in the reproductive period compared to that of the control, regardless of defoliation. The highest defoliation level reduced grain production per plant by 24.7 and 24.3% relative to the control at stages V6 and R3, respectively, regardless of WR. WR imposed at the vegetative and reproductive stages did not increase defoliation sensitivity.