Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T07:32:46.808Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Azospirillum brasilense increases corn growth and yield in conventional low input cropping systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2020

Steliane Pereira Coelho*
Affiliation:
Plant Science Department, Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil
João Carlos Cardoso Galvão
Affiliation:
Plant Science Department, Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil
Jeferson Giehl
Affiliation:
Plant Science Department, Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil
Édio Vicente de Jesus
Affiliation:
Federal Institute of Minas Gerais, São João Evangelista Campus, Brazil
Beatriz Ferreira Mendonça
Affiliation:
Plant Science Department, Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil
Silvane de Almeida Campos
Affiliation:
Plant Science Department, Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil
Lamara Freitas Brito
Affiliation:
Plant Science Department, Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil
Tamara Rocha dos Santos
Affiliation:
Department of Soil Science, Federal University of Goiás, Brazil
Emuriela da Rocha Dourado
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil
Maria Catarina Megumi Kasuya
Affiliation:
Institute for Biotechnology Applied to Agriculture, Laboratory of Mycorrhizal Associations, Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil
Marliane de Cássia Soares Silva
Affiliation:
Institute for Biotechnology Applied to Agriculture, Laboratory of Mycorrhizal Associations, Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil
Paulo Roberto Cecon
Affiliation:
Department of Statistics, Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil
*
Author for correspondence: Steliane Pereira Coelho, E-mail: [email protected]

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.

Type
Research Paper
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bashan, Y and Dubrovsky, JG (1996) Azospirillum spp. participation in dry matter partitioning in grasses at the whole plant level. Biology and Fertility of Soils 23, 435440.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bashan, Y, Puente, ME, Rodriguez-Mendoza, MN, Toledo, G, Holguin, G, Ferrera-Cerrato, R and Pedrin, S (1995) Survival of Azospirillum brasilense in the bulk soil and rhizosphere of 23 soil types. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 61, 19381945.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bashan, Y, de-Bashan, LE, Prabhu, SR and Hernandez, JP (2014) Advances in plant growth-promoting bacterial inoculant technology: formulations and practical perspectives (1998–2013). Plant and Soil 378, 133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cassán, F and Diaz-Zorita, M (2016) Azospirillum sp. in current agriculture: from the laboratory to the field. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 103, 117130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coelho, SP, Galvão, JCC, Trogello, E, Campos, SA, Pereira, LPL, Barrella, TP, Cecon, PR and Pereira, AJ (2016) Coberturas vegetais na supressão de plantas daninhas em sistema de plantio direto orgânico de milho. Revista Milho e Sorgo 15, 6572.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conab - Companhia Nacional de Abastecimento (2017) Acompanhamento da safra brasileira de grãos: Monitoramento agrícola 2016/2017. Brasília: Conab, 4, pp. 1158.Google Scholar
Corrêa, MLP (2009) Cultivo orgânico de milho em sistemas de plantio direto (Doctoral thesis). Universidade Federal de Viçosa.Google Scholar
Corrêa, MLP, Galvão, JCC, Fontanetti, A, Miranda, GV, Lemos, JP, Rodrigues, OL and Conceição, PM (2011) Desempenho agronômico do milho orgânico e tradicional em sistema de plantio direto. Revista Brasileira de Agropecuária Sustentável 1, 7987.Google Scholar
Creus, CM, Graziano, M, Casanovas, EM, Pereyra, MA, Simontacchi, M, Puntarulo, S, Barassi, CA and Lamattina, L (2005) Nitric oxide is involved in the Azospirillum brasilense induced lateral root formation in tomato. Planta 221, 297303.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
D'Angioli, AM, Viani, RAG, Lambers, H, Sawaya, ACHF and Oliveira, RS (2017) Inoculation with Azospirillum brasilense (Ab-V4, Ab-V5) increases Zea mays root carboxylate-exudation rates, dependent on soil phosphorus supply. Plant and Soil 410, 499507.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dobbelaere, S, Croonenborghs, A, Thys, A, Broek, AV and Vanderleyden, J (1999) Phytostimulatory effect of Azospirillum brasilense wild type and mutant strains altered in IAA production on wheat. Plant and Soil 212, 153162.Google Scholar
Dobereiner, J, Marriel, IE and Nery, N (1976) Ecological distribution of Spirillum lipoferum Beijerinck. Canadian Journal Microbiology 22, 14641473.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Döbereiner, J, Baldani, VLD and Baldani, JI (1995) Como isolar e identificar bactérias diazotróficas de plantas não-leguminosas. Itaguaí: Embrapa-SPI, 60p.Google Scholar
Ejaz, S, Batool, S, Anjum, MA, Naz, S, Qayyum, MF, Naqqash, T, Shah, KH and Ali, S (2020) Effects of inoculation of root-associative Azospirillum and Agrobacterium strains on growth, yield and quality of pea (Pisum sativum L.) grown under different nitrogen and phosphorus regimes. Scientia Horticulturae 270, 109401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária – Embrapa (2013) Sistema Brasileiro de Classificação de Solos. Rio de Janeiro: Embrapa, 353p.Google Scholar
Erisman, JW, Sutton, MA, Galloway, JN, Kimont, Z and Winiwarter, W (2008) How a century of ammonia synthesis changed the world. Nature Geoscience 1, 636639.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferreira, AS, Pires, RR, Rabelo, PG, Oliveira, RC, Luz, JMQ and Brito, CH (2013) Implications of Azospirillum brasilense inoculation and nutrient addition on maize in soils of the Brazilian Cerrado under greenhouse and field conditions. Applied Soil Ecology 72, 103108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fukami, J, Nogueira, MA, Araújo, RS and Hungria, M (2016) Accessing inoculation methods of maize and wheat with Azospirillum brasilense. AMB Express 6, 3.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Galloway, JN, Townsend, AR, Erisman, JW, Bekunda, M, Cai, Z, Freney, JR, Martinelli, LA, Seitzinger, SP and Sutton, MA (2008) Transformation of the nitrogen cycle: recent trends, questions, and potential solution. Science (New York, N.Y.) 320, 889892.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Galvão, JCC (1994) Características físicas e químicas do solo e produção do milho exclusivo e consorciado com feijão, em função de adubações orgânica e mineral contínuas (Doctoral thesis). Universidade Federal de Viçosa.Google Scholar
Gijsman, AJ, Hoogenboom, G, Parton, WJ and Kerridge, PC (2002) Modifying DSSAT crop models for low-input agricultural systems using a soil organic matter–residue module from CENTURY. Agronomy Journal 94, 462474.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilchrist, JE, Campbell, JE, Donnelly, CB, Peeler, JT and Delaney, JM (1973) Spiral plate method for bacterial determination. Applied Microbiology 25, 244252.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hungria, M, Campo, RJ, Souza, EM and Pedrosa, FO (2010) Inoculation with selected strains of Azospirillum brasilense and Azospirillum lipoferum improves yields of maize and wheat in Brazil. Plant and Soil 331, 413425.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kappes, C, Arf, O, Arf, MV, Ferreira, JP, Dal Bem, EA, Portugal, JR and Vilela, RG (2013) Inoculação de sementes com bactéria diazotrófica e aplicação de nitrogênio em cobertura e foliar em milho. Semina: Ciências Agrárias 34, 527538.Google Scholar
Kiehl, EJ (1985) Fertilizantes orgânicos. Piracicaba: Agronômica Ceres, 492p.Google Scholar
Maia, CE and Cantarutti, RB (2004) Acumulação de nitrogênio e carbono no solo pela adubação orgânica e mineral contínua na cultura do milho. Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental 8, 3944.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martins, RM, Jantalaia, CP, Reis, VM, Döwich, I, Polidoro, JC, Alves, BJR, Boddey, RM and Urquiaga, S (2017) Impact of plant growth-promoting bacteria on grain yield, protein content, and urea-15 N recovery by maize in a Cerrado Oxisol. Plant and Soil 422, 239250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Molina-Favero, C, Creus, CM, Simontacchi, M, Puntarulo, S and Lamattina, L (2008) Aerobic nitric oxide production by Azospirillum brasilense Sp245 and its influence on root architecture in tomato. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 21, 10011009.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pereira, NCM, Galindo, FS, Gazola, RPD, Dupas, E, Rosa, PAL, Mortinho, ES and Teixeira Filho, MCM (2020) Corn yield and phosphorus use efficiency response to phosphorus rates associated with plant growth promoting bacteria. Frontiers in Environmental Science 8, 40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Piccinin, GG, Braccini, AL, Dan, LGM, Scapim, CA, Ricci, TT and Bazo, GL (2013) Efficiency of seed inoculation with Azospirillum brasilense on agronomic characteristics and yield of wheat. Industrial Crops and Products 43, 393397.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pii, Y, Aldrighetti, A, Valentinuzzi, F, Mimmo, T and Cesco, S (2019) Azospirillum brasilense inoculation counteracts the induction of nitrate uptake in maize plants. Journal of Experimental Botany 70, 13131324.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reganold, JP and Wachter, JM (2016) Organic agriculture in the twenty-first century. Nature Plants 2, 15221.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rondina, ABL, Sanzovo, AWS, Guimarrães, GS, Wendling, JR, Nogueira, MA and Hungria, M (2020) Changes in root morphological traits in soybean co-inoculated with Bradyrhizobium spp. and Azospirillum brasilense or treated with A. brasilense exudates. Biology and Fertility of Soils 56, 537549CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saeg Sistema para Análises Estatísticas (2007) Versão 9.1: Fundação Arthur Bernardes – Universidade Federal de Viçosa – Viçosa-MG.Google Scholar
Sammauria, R, Kumavat, S, Kumavat, P, Singh, J and Jatwa, TK (2020) Microbial inoculants: potential tool for sustainability of agricultural production systems. Archives of Microbiology 202, 677693.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Santos, MS, Nogueira, MA and Hungria, M (2019) Microbial inoculants: reviewing the past, discussing the present and previewing an outstanding future for the use of beneficial bacteria in agriculture. AMB Express 9, 205.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Semenov, MV, Krasnov, GS, Semenov, VM and Bruggen, AHC (2020) Long-term fertilization rather than plant species shapes rhizosphere and bulk soil prokaryotic communities in agroecosystems. Applied Soil Ecology 154, 103641.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Veresoglou, SD and Menexes, G (2010) Impact of inoculation with Azospirillum spp. on growth properties and seed yield of wheat: a meta-analysis of studies in the ISI Web of Science from 1981 to 2008. Plant and Soil 337, 469480.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wisniewski-Dyé, F, Lozano, L, Acosta-Cruz, E, Borland, S, Drogue, B, Prigent-Combaret, C, Rouy, Z, Barbe, V, Herrera, AM, González, V and Mavingui, P (2012) Genome sequence of Azospirillum brasilense CBG497 and comparative analyses of Azospirillum core and accessory genomes provide insight into niche adaptation. Genes 3, 576602.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zeffa, DM, Perini, LJ, Silva, MB, Sousa, NV, Scapim, CA, Oliveira, ALM, Amaral Júnior, AT and Gonçalves, LSA (2019) Azospirillum brasilense promotes increases in growth and nitrogen use efficiency of maize genotypes. PLoS ONE 18, e0215332.CrossRefGoogle Scholar