ANÁLISE DE TRILHA DE ATRIBUTOS AGRONÔMICOS E DA RESISTÊNCIA DO SOLO À PENETRAÇÃO NA PRODUTIVIDADE DA SOJA (Glycine max L.) EM SISTEMAS DE CULTIVO CONVENCIONAL E DIRETO

Abstract

Soybean is a crop with high adaptability to various edaphoclimatic conditions; however, soil compaction, particularly in clayey soils and regions with intense rainfall, can hinder plant development and significantly reduce yield. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of agronomic traits and soil penetration resistance on soybean yield, identifying their direct and indirect effects through path analysis under two soil tillage systems: no-tillage and conventional tillage. The variables analyzed included soybean yield, number of pods per plant, number of grains per plant, thousand-grain weight, and soil penetration resistance, measured using a digital penetrometer (Penetrolog, Falker) at depths ranging from 0.0 to 0.60 m, at 0.05 m intervals. The experiment was conducted at the experimental field of the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Chapadão do Sul Campus (MS), under a humid tropical climate (Aw), from September 2024 to February 2025. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, simple correlations, multicollinearity diagnosis, and path analysis using Rbio and GENES software. Results showed that, in both soil tillage systems, the number of pods, number of grains per plant, and thousand-grain weight had a direct and positive influence on soybean yield. A direct relationship indicates that an increase in one variable results in an increase in another, whereas an indirect relationship implies that an increase in one variable causes a reduction in another. An indirect negative effect was observed for soil penetration resistance in the 0.0–0.05 m layer (rp1) under the no-tillage system and in the 0.15–0.20 m layer (rp4) under the conventional system. In both cases, increased penetration resistance negatively affected the yield components, ultimately reducing overall productivity.