Efficiency of inoculant with Azospirillum brasilense on the growth and yield of second-harvest maize

• Autor(a) principal: Costa, Raoni Ribeiro Guedes Fonseca
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Outros Autores: Quirino, Gerciene da Silva Ferreira, Naves, Daniela Cristina de Freirtas, Santos, Charles Barbosa, Rocha, Ana Flávia de Souza
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Pesquisa Agropecuária Tropical (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://revistas.ufg.br/pat/article/view/34593
• topic: Zea mays; nitrogen-fixing bacteria; nitrogen fertilization.; Zea mays; bactérias fixadoras de nitrogênio; adubação nitrogenada.

The misuse of fertilizers has become a growing concern in terms of agricultural and environmental sustainability. One alternative to reduce the impact of chemical fertilizers is the use of inoculants containing nitrogen-fixing and plant growth promoting bacteria. This study aimed at evaluating the effects of an inoculant with Azospirillum brasilense on the growth and yield of second-harvest maize. The experimental design was randomized blocks with three replications, in a 3 × 5 factorial scheme. The treatments consisted of three inoculation methods (control without inoculation, seed inoculation and leaf-sprayed inoculation at the V4 stage) and five cover N-fertilization doses (0 %, 25 %, 50 %, 75 % and 100 %, with the 100 % dose corresponding to 50 kg ha-1 of N as urea). Inoculated plants showed a greater growth for height (9.5 % and 16 %), stem dry biomass (49 % and 6.75 %) and root dry biomass (123 % and 97 %), respectively for seed inoculation and spraying, as well as increases in ear size (8 %), chlorophyll content (4 %), 1,000-grain weight (12 %) and grain yield (29 %), when compared to non-inoculated plants. The effects of N doses were only significant for 1,000-grain weight and grain yield (kg ha-1), with seed inoculation providing a higher yield for second-harvest maize.