We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Azospirillum brasilense increases corn growth and yield in conventional low input cropping systems.
- Authors
Coelho, Steliane Pereira; Galvão, João Carlos Cardoso; Giehl, Jeferson; de Jesus, Édio Vicente; Mendonça, Beatriz Ferreira; Campos, Silvane de Almeida; Brito, Lamara Freitas; dos Santos, Tamara Rocha; Dourado, Emuriela da Rocha; Kasuya, Maria Catarina Megumi; Silva, Marliane de Cássia Soares; Cecon, Paulo Roberto
- Abstract
The supplementation of nitrogen can be increased by the use of nitrogen-fixing, diazotrophic bacteria such as Azospirillum brasilense. These bacteria can act to promote plant growth in various plant species, including corn (Zea mays L.). However, there is a need to understand the behavior of these bacteria in different agricultural systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect on the growth and yield of corn inoculated with A. brasilense, and to identify the type of farming system which benefited most from the use of A. brasilense-based inoculants. The experiment conducted over two corn crop seasons was arranged in a 6 × 2 factorial scheme, consisting of six farming systems and the presence or absence of inoculation with the bacteria A. brasilense. The farming systems were derived from a long-term experiment with different fertilization systems that has been conducted since 1984. Among these systems, there were three conventional systems (CNT1: conventional no-till without fertilizer; CNT2: conventional no-till with 150 kg ha−1 of mineral fertilizer + 50 kg ha−1 of urea; CNT3: conventional no-till with 300 kg ha−1 of mineral fertilizer + 100 kg ha−1 of urea), and three organic systems (ONT1: organic no-till with 40 m3 ha−1 of organic compost; ONT2: organic no-till with 20 m3 ha−1 of organic compost; ONT3: organic no-till with 40 m3 ha−1 of organic compost and intercropped with Canavalia ensiformis). Although the Azospirillum population in the soil before planting was the same for all six systems, the count in the rhizospheric soil was higher in the organic systems, and there was no increase in that count due to inoculation. In this study, the only difference observed was within the CNT1 system, between the inoculated (CNT1-I) and uninoculated (CNT1-NI) treatments. In this system, inoculation resulted in an increase in plant height, in addition to higher concentrations of foliar N and P, and a higher plant survival rate, which culminated in higher yield. Corn inoculated with A. brasilense in the CNT1-I treatment showed a significant increase in yield—2839 kg ha−1 higher than that recorded for CNT1-NI. This study shows that, in the conventional low input treatment CNT1-I, inoculation with A. brasilense resulted in an increase in corn growth and yield.
- Subjects
AZOSPIRILLUM brasilense; CROPPING systems; CORN growth; SURVIVAL rate; CORN; FERTILIZERS; PLANT growth
- Publication
Renewable Agriculture & Food Systems, 2021, Vol 36, Issue 3, p225
- ISSN
1742-1705
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1017/S1742170520000241