Performance of common bean under inoculation of plant growth promoting bacteria and Rhizobium strains
Common bean; Co-inoculation; Growth Promoters.
The objective of this work was evaluated as responses in terms of nodulation, biomass production and productivity, co-inoculation of plant growth promoting bacteria associated with common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) commercial inoculant Rhizobium strains crop. In order to achieve these objectives, three field experiments at different agroecological conditions and two greenhouse experiments were conducted. The greenhouse experiments aimed to evaluate the effect on nodulation an initial plant growth of Rhizobium compared to co-inoculation treatments with growth promoting bacteria, on the first stages of common beans vegetative growth. The experiments were designed in a completely randomized design, with two cultivars, Pérola (Carioca grain commercial type) and BRS Esteio (Black grain commercial type), with four treatments and six replications. Plants were harvested at the phenological phases V3 and V4 characterized by the emission of the first trifoliate leaf and the emission of the third trifoliate leaf, respectively. Greenhouse experiments demonstrated that co-inoculation with Bradyrhizobium consistently stimulated nodulation of the cultivars, at both stages for cultivar Pérola and at V4 for cultivar Esteio. Number of nodules of cultivar Pérola, compared to the isolated inoculation with Rhizobium tropici, was increased by 56% and by 70%, respectively at V3 and V4. Nodule dry weight at V4 showed values 29% and 41% higher than sole rizobial inoculation for Pérola and Esteio cultivars, respectively. Bradyrhizobium coinoculation also stimulated shoot growth of the cultivars at V4, by 67% and 28% for Pérola and Esteio, respectively. Coinoculation stimulus on nodulation by Azospirillum were evident at V4 for both cultivars with an increase, respectively for Pérola and Esteio, of 53% and 21% in nodule numbers and 24% and 21% in nodule dry weight. An increase of 51% higher accumulation of shoot dry matter on cultivar Pérola was observed for Azospirillum coinoculation at V4. There was no effects of the co-inoculation treatments for root dry mass values. Two field experiments were carried out with Esteio cultivar, in Macaé, RJ, at areas with different soil and previous cultivation history. The experiments were conducted in a randomized blocks design with five replicates and five treatments: absolute control, nitrogen control (80 kg ha-1 of N), inoculation with Rhizobium ration, co-inoculation Rhizobium and A. brasilense, and Rhizobium and B. elkanii co-inoculation. A third e experiment was carried out at Embrapa Agrobiologia, with cultivars Esteio and Ouro Negro, with the same previous treatments and a co-inoculation treatment with A. brasilense coinoculation and application of N mineral in cover (40 kg ha-1 of N at 30 DAEs). The plants were sampled during full bloom and maturation of the grains. The first experiment in Macaé showed a high native population of rhizobia in the soil. In the second experiment, a co-inoculation with Bradyrhizobium increased the dry mass of shoots and roots; but climatic conditions drastically limited yield. At Embrapa Agrobiologia experiment, cultivar Esteio was superior to Ouro Negro for most of the analyzed variables and grain yield. Rhizobium co-inoculation with growth-promoting bacteria, associated or not with N application on cover, did not affected biomass production compared to the controls. At the agroecological field conditions evaluated, it was not possible to confirm the positive effects of inoculation or co-inoculation treatments.