Bacillus subtilis Bs10 as an efficient inoculant for growth promotion in soybean plants

Abstract

Currently, food with low levels of pesticides, sustainable agricultural practices and increased crop productivity have gained prominence worldwide. Rhizobacterial inoculants are an alternative to manage large crops that favors sustainable plant growth. Thereby, this study aimed to assess the effect of increasing doses of inoculant based on the rhizobacterium Bacillus subtilis Bs10 compared to the commercial product based on B. subtilis on the development of soybean culture. Two experiments were carried out with two soybean cultivars, M8210 IPRO and M8615 IPRO, assessed at the vegetative and reproductive stages. Doses of B. subtilis Bs10 with 0, 100, 200, 300, 400 mL per 50 kg seeds were inoculated in each experiment, as well as an additional treatment with commercial product based on B. subtilis. Biomass, nodulation, plant height, internodes, number of pods and number of grains of soybean cultivars were assessed. The inoculation of B. subtilis Bs10 significantly (p < 0.05) improved the agronomic characteristics of both soybean cultivars with an increase in shoot and root biomass, nodulation, phosphorus content, and accumulation of nitrogen in the aerial part. The doses of B. subtilis Bs10 between 200 and 350 mL had significant prominence in increasing the variables studied herein.