How do rhizobacteria species influence the growth and yield of soybean in a tropical environment?
¹UniEVANGÉLICA - Universidade Evangélica de Goiás, Universitária Avenue, km. 3.5, 75083-515, Anápolis, Brazil
²Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Eliseu Maciel Avenue, 96010-610, Capão do Leão, Brazil
³Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul, MS 306 Rd., km 6.4, 79540-000, Cassilândia, Brazil
*Correspondence: agrovendruscolo@gmail.com
Abstract:
The application of rhizobacteria has gained space in agricultural production, given the demand for more sustainable systems. However, most of the results obtained are related to soil or seed application, leaving a gap in relation to the foliar application of these microorganisms. The objective of this work was to evaluate the impact of foliar application of different types of growth-promoting rhizobacteria on morphological aspects and production components of soybean. For this, the foliar application of four rhizobacteria (Serratia sp.; Bacillus subtilis; Bacillus sp.; Pseudomonas fluorescens) was used, as well as a control without inoculation. Morphological variables of growth and production components were analyzed. The yield ratio of the treatments with rhizobacteria, concerning the control was also calculated. The foliar application with different rhizobacteria in soybean did not affect the vegetative parameters of plant height, stem diameter and dry weight of the canopy. For the number of pods per plant, number of grains per plant and grain yield the use of Bacillus sp. was superior to the other treatments, providing an average increase of 27.65%, 20.32% and 28.59%, respectively. Also, the Serratia sp., Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas fluorescens application increased the grain yield by 8.49%, 10.73% and 5.71%, respectively. In conclusion, for the condition of the tropical region where this study was conducted, the foliar application with different growth-promoting rhizobacteria in soybean did not interfere in the vegetative development of soybean plants. In addition, considering the factors related to the increase of production in cultivated areas, all rhizobacteria have the potential to improve yield gains when applied as foliar treatment, especially the Bacillus sp.
Key words:
Bacillus sp., biological inputs, biostimulants, Glycine max, growth promotion, regenerative agriculture