Abstract
ABSTRACT Studies related to nitrogen fertilization and biological nitrogen fixation in the increase of chickpea production are considered scarce in tropical regions. This work aimed to evaluate the inoculation with Rhizobium tropici, and nitrogen fertilization, under irrigated tropical conditions, on the development of chickpea in low and high content of soil organic matter (SOM). The experimental design was in randomized blocks, with four replications, in a 2 x 6 factorial scheme. Treatments, consisted of the presence and absence of inoculation with R. tropici, and six N doses (0, 25, 50, 75, 100, and 125 kg ha-1) in the form of urea. The study was divided into two areas with distinct contents of SOM. In the area with the lowest content of SOM (3.55 dag kg-1), the inoculation with R. tropici or the fertilization with 125 kg ha-1 N increased the leaf content of nutrients (N, K, Mg, and P) and grain mass per plant, 100-grain mass, number of pods with two grains, dry mass of leaves, branches, chlorophyll index, and relative agronomic efficiency. Thus, the yield was increased in 65%, compared to the control treatment, recommending the application of 100 to 125 kg ha-1 of N with or without R. tropici. In the area with the highest content of SOM (7.37 dag kg-1), the inoculation with R. tropici provided a higher grain mass per plants, number of pods with one gain, dry mass of leaves, total dry mass, and chlorophyll index; nitrogen fertilization increased the leaf content of N and the chlorophyll index, although neither factor interfered with the yield, and are not recommended. Such results indicate the dependence of the nitrogen fertilization and inoculation with Rhizobium on the natural availability of N in the SOM.
Highlights
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is the third most cultivated grain legume in the world, with a production of 14.5 million tons and a mean grain yield of 0.96 t ha-1 (FAO, 2017)
The inoculation with R. tropici did not interfere with the CI, Height, G100, NP1, TNP, and harvest index (HI) features (Table1), which obtained the following means: 45, 102 cm, 29 g, 28, and 39, respectively
The application of 125 kg ha-1 N with or without R. tropici provided the maximum production values of 2.09 t ha-1 grains (Figure 2F). These results indicate a greater importance of the factor doses of N for the increase of grain production in soil with lower content of organic matter, and that the application of higher doses of N can minimize the positive effect of nodulating bacteria in the production of chickpea
Summary
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is the third most cultivated grain legume in the world, with a production of 14.5 million tons and a mean grain yield of 0.96 t ha-1 (FAO, 2017). The Brazilian semi-arid region has the potential to obtain grain yields greater than 1,000 kilos per hectare (Pegoraro et al, 2018; Avelar et al, 2018; Artiaga et al, 2015) In this condition, chickpea presents a higher nutritional demand, especially for elements related to the production of biomass and grains, such as nitrogen. Amoursy and Mousa (2017) and Khaitov and Abdiev (2018) reported the need to apply 48 and 75 kg ha-1 N for higher grain yield in chickpeas in Bangladesh and Uzbekista, respectively These doses of N vary according to the productive potential of the crop and soil characteristics, such as the organic matter content, responsible for the supply of native N to the plants
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