Abstract
Biofertilizers are considered as potential supplements or alternatives to fertilizers. The objective of the present study is to evaluate different biofertilizers in combination with synthetic fertilizers on the yields of maize and wheat in several states in Mexico. Fourteen biofertilizer treatments plus a treatment with 100% the locally recommended fertilizer rate (RFR), another with 50% RFR (the control treatment), and one without any fertilizer (for a total of 17 treatments) were tested on maize and wheat in five states across Mexico. Field experiments were established in five states and several years for a total of 14 experiments in Mexico. In general, except for the experiments conducted in moderately low soil P conditions, Chiapas and Sonora (maize), no response to biofertilizers was observed in the remaining locations, through the years in wheat and maize. We conclude that in high input production systems, the biofertilizer response is more an exception than a rule with only 21% of the experiments showing a significant difference in favor of biofertilizers and only 4 of 15 products tested produced a yield response in more nitrogen deficient environments. Some products containing AMF may be beneficial in maize production systems with phosphorus deficient environments.
Highlights
Introduction iationsThe use of biofertilizers in Mexico dates back to pre-Columbian times, as mud from lakes loaded with a variety of microorganisms was used to build floating plots to grow crops [1]
The control treatment to test the effectiveness of biofertilizers was the 50% of local recommended fertilizer rate (RFR), the core comparison throughout this paper is the 50% RFR vs. the 50% RFR plus the different biofertilizers
Factors are complex to understand and apply at the field level, as biological processes are very dynamic in space and time for the microorganisms and for the plant’s environments. The results of these experiments show that only in Chiapas and Sonora was there was a significant increase in yield with some biofertilizers in combination with
Summary
The use of biofertilizers in Mexico dates back to pre-Columbian times, as mud from lakes (located near what today is Mexico City) loaded with a variety of microorganisms was used to build floating plots (called chinampas) to grow crops [1]. Armenta-Bojorquez et al [2] indicated that the state of Sinaloa (a highly productive, high input agricultural state in northwestern Mexico) widely adopted the use of biofertilizers for N fixation on legume crops around the 1970s and 1980s. The irrigated intensive production systems in Sinaloa, for the most part, relay on synthetic fertilizers. The state of Chiapas, which has fewer input intensive systems, and mostly rainfed agriculture, in southern Mexico, seems to be one of the most enthusiastic and successful states for testing biofertilizers [3,4].
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