Efficacy of alginate- and clay-encapsulated microorganisms on the growth of Araçá-Boi seedlings (&lt;I&gt;Eugenia stipitata&lt;/I&gt;)

Fernanda Cristina Nascimento,Saveetha Kandasamy,Carlos Henrique Barbosa Santos,Everlon Cid Rigobelo

doi:10.4025/actascibiolsci.v41i1.43936

Efficacy of alginate- and clay-encapsulated microorganisms on the growth of Araçá-Boi seedlings (<I>Eugenia stipitata</I>)

Fernanda Cristina Nascimento, Saveetha Kandasamy + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4025/actascibiolsci.v41i1.43936

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Abstract

The present work aimed to evaluate the effects of encapsulated microorganisms on seedlings of Eugenia stipitata , popularly known as araca-boi, to evaluate the interaction between the inoculum and encapsulating agents such as clay and alginate. The experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design using a 3×2 factorial scheme. The treatments were control, inoculum, clay without microbial inoculum, clay with microbial inoculum, alginate without microbial inoculum, and alginate with microbial inoculum. The seedlings were grown under nursery conditions over a period of 3 months. No treatment increased the height, stem diameter, shoot dry matter or root dry matter of the araca-boi seedlings. The use of alginate increased the ammonium content compared to the clay and control treatments. Alginate and clay increased the nitrate content in relation to the control. Alginate increased the total number of bacteria in relation to the clay and control treatments. The application of inoculum combined with alginate increased the nitrate content only in relation to the clay and control treatments. Although the application of inoculum promoted an increase in the nitrate content compared to the uninoculated treatments, there was no effect for the other parameters analyzed. The results suggest that clay and alginate encapsulating agents with the presence or absence of microorganisms may improve some soil parameters.

Highlights

The use of rhizobacterial plant growth promoters in agriculture is a great strategy to decrease environmental impacts resulting from the continued use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides (Meena et al, 2017)
Inoculum encapsulation has been used to enhance the effectiveness of bacteria by supplying nutrients and providing protection n against desiccation, which increase the consistency of inoculated microorganisms in the soil (Bashan & Holguin, 2002; Amavizca, Bashan, Ryu, Farag, Bebout, & de-Bashan, 2017)
As the total numbers of bacteria were higher in the soils that received the microbial inoculum compared to the soil that did not receive the inoculum, these results show that the microbial inoculum was able to establish and increase in the soil at least in 20 days after inoculation, suggesting that this mixture could be used to promote plant growth

Summary

Introduction

The use of rhizobacterial plant growth promoters in agriculture is a great strategy to decrease environmental impacts resulting from the continued use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides (Meena et al, 2017). Inoculum encapsulation has been used to enhance the effectiveness of bacteria by supplying nutrients and providing protection n against desiccation, which increase the consistency of inoculated microorganisms in the soil (Bashan & Holguin, 2002; Amavizca, Bashan, Ryu, Farag, Bebout, & de-Bashan, 2017). The main aims of microbial encapsulation are to protect the bacteria being introduced to the soil until their acclimation to the new conditions (John, Tyagi, Brar, Surampalli, & Prévost, 2011; Schoebitz, López & Roldán, 2012; Przyklenk, Vemmer, Hanitzsch, & Patel, 2017) and to ensure their gradual release into the soil (Bashan & Holguin, 2002; Amavizca et al, 2017)

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