Performance of corn hybrids at the Southwest of Paraná under different row spacing

Abstract

Corn plant arrangement is one of the most important management tool to improve solar radiation interception and it can be done through changes in plant density, row spacing, distribution of plants in the row and plant variability aiming to optimize its use and maximize the yield. Due to it, the objective of this work was to study the effects of different corn hybrids and row spacing over the corn development cultivated in a no-tillage system in the Southwest of Paraná. The experiment was carried out at the experimental area of the UTFPR Agronomy Course located in Pato Branco - Pr, following a complete randomized block design factorial (3 x 3), with four replications. The treatments consisted of combinations among three hybrids (DKB 240, Pioneer 30R50 and SG 6010) and three row spacing (0.45; 0.70 and 0.90 m). After seeding, were evaluated: plant height, stem diameter, grain yield and its components. According to the results, there were no interaction among hybrids and row spacing, the row spacing reduction promoted greater number of spikes per plant and increased corn grain yield.