Agronomic and Chemical Performance of Corn Cultivars under Inoculation and Co-Inoculation with Diazotrophic Bacteria

Abstract

The intense use of agricultural fertilizers in corn crops results in serious environmental impacts, an increase in production costs, and the reduction of the soil microbial population. An alternative to these problems is the use of microorganisms present in the soil. This study aimed to evaluate the agronomic and chemical potential of different corn cultivars under inoculation and co-inoculation with diazotrophic bacteria Azospirillum brasiliense and Bradyrhizobium japonicum. A field experiment was performed in a completely randomized design in a bifactorial scheme. Factor A consisted of inoculation (use of an isolate) and co-inoculation (use of the two bacteria) and factor D, of corn cultivars (creole and hybrid) submitted to different N doses (40 and 80 kg/ ha or 50% and 100% of N dose recommended). The grain yield was up to 11862.7 kg/ ha for the hybrid cultivar treated with bacteria co-inoculation. The oil and protein yields were up to 31 ± 14.9 g oil/ 100 g sample and 1.1 ± 0.2 g protein/ 100 g sample. Thus, the use of inoculation and co-inoculation of diazotrophic bacteria can be applied in the management of corn production as a strategy to reduce production costs and obtain higher yields.