Abstract
Sustainable intensification of cropping systems requires to increase productivity and nutrients use efficiency while reducing negative impacts of agricultural management practices on ecosystem and environment. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) inoculations are considered one of the most promising and safe strategy to alleviate environmental alterations in context of climatic extremes to improve plant nutrition while reducing dependency of nitrogen (N) fertilizer application. This study investigated the interactive effects of N levels and inoculation with A. brasilense on plant biomass, grain yield, agronomic efficiency (AE) of applied N, apparent N-fertilizer recovery (AFR) and N content in plant targeting economic feasibility of wheat production system. The field trial tested 4 N application levels applied in side-dressing (control, low, average and high; named 0, 50, 100 and 200 kg N ha−1) and two inoculations (without and with A. brasilense seed inoculation). The results exhibited that inoculation with A. brasilense enhanced AE, AFR and N uptake in wheat plants with increased root and shoot N accumulation and grain N accumulation under average and high N application levels. In addition, inoculation increased root and shoot biomass, leading to a yield increase of 10.3% compared with non-inoculated plants. Wheat plant inoculation associated with application of the average N level provided the greatest profitability. Furthermore, results showed that reducing N fertilization from 100 to 50 kg N ha−1 along A. brasilense inoculation led to an increase in operating profit of 10.5%. In view of low economic cost, ease of application, and high probability of a positive response by wheat crops, even associated with different N application levels, the inoculation with A. brasilense prone to be a key sustainable management practice to improve wheat production under tropical conditions. This practice has the potential to increase wheat grain yield, N use and uptake, and overall farm profitability.
Highlights
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the essential global staple foods that contributes around 20% dietary protein for human nutrition on daily basis (Zheng et al, 2021)
The findings of current study exhibited that inoculation of A. brasilense enhanced agronomic efficiency (AE), apparent N-fertilizer recovery (AFR) and N uptake in wheat plants with increased root and shoot N accumulation and grain N accumulation under the average and high N application levels (Figure 1D; Figure, 2C,F,G)
A. brasilense inoculation could be a key pillar in combating hunger, promoting food security, and environmental sustainability
Summary
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the essential global staple foods that contributes around 20% dietary protein for human nutrition on daily basis (Zheng et al, 2021). Brazil is one the world’s largest cereal producers but still importing more than half of wheat from other countries for its consumption (Conab, 2021). Major cereal producers are North America and Europe, and Asia in the developing world, India and China (Grote et al, 2021). Consumption largely outpaces production in Africa and Asia, which are making these two regions major net importers of wheat (Grote et al, 2021). Crop failure in tropical and sub-tropical regions may cause a great deficit to wheat production. Increasing wheat cultivation to tropical and sub-tropical regions could be handled as a matter of food security around the world
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