Effect of Pesticides and a Long-Life Inoculant on Nodulation Process and Soybean Seed Quality during Storage

Abstract

Inoculants containing strains of bacteria that fix atmospheric N that are tolerant or resistant to chemical products commonly used in seed treatment are classified as long-life inoculants, which contribute to improving the efficiency of nodulating bacteria in soybean crops. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of applying commonly used pesticides in seed treatment and a long-life inoculant, alone or in combination, on the nodulation process and seed quality of soybeans during storage. The first experiment was carried out in a greenhouse using a completely randomized design, in an 8 × 2 factorial arrangement, with three replications. The treatments consisted of applications of industrial seed treatments: control, MaximAdvanced, Fortenza, long-life inoculant, MaximAdvanced + Fortenza, MaximAdvanced + long-life inoculant, Fortenza + long-life inoculant, and MaximAdvanced + Fortenza + long-life inoculant. The seeds were sown in pots containing soils from two crop areas. The second experiment was carried out in a laboratory, using a completely randomized design in an 8 × 7 factorial arrangement, with four replications. The treatments consisted of the same eight treatments used in the greenhouse experiment, which were applied before packaging and storing the seeds for two months. The industrial seed treatment with the mixture of fungicide, insecticide, and inoculants improved the soybean photosynthesis and nodulation processes, regardless of the history of the area. Soybean seeds can be stored for commercial purposes for up to 40 days, regardless of the seed treatment with fungicide, insecticide, and long-life inoculant applied alone or in combination.