As part of the official network trials for soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill) cultivar screening in the State of São Paulo-Brazil, a field experiment was installed in Piracicaba, to evaluate the growth and yield performance of short maturity genotypes. The experiment was arranged in a randomized block design with 20 treatments (cultivars and breeding lines) and 4 replications on a Kandiudalfic Eutrodox soil. The plots were 2.50 m wide and 5.0 m long, with 4 planting lines spaced 0.50 m. The cultivar IAS-5 (the most used in the State of São Paulo) and IAC-17 (with high yields in the trials of the last years) were introduced as standards for comparision with the newly developed cultivars and lines. The following characteristics were evaluated: initial plant population, flowering date, maturation date, plant height at flowering and maturation, first pod insertion height, degree of lodging and grain yield. Lower plant population reduced plant height at maturation, first pod insertion height and grain yield. The lines BR 92-4428, BR 92-6528, IAC 93-680, IAC 90-938, IDS 413-F4, IAC 93-598 and IAC 90-1000 were the most productive, with yields above the standards. The lines FT 90-2687 and BR 92-5261 presented the lowest yields.
Glycine max; maturation group; plant breeding; morphological characteristics