Morphometry and production of maize inoculated with Azospirillum brasilense

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the influence of inoculation methods with Azospirillum brasilense in morphometric and nutritional parameters of the maize crop. Maize plants, hybrid Formula VT®, were grown under different forms of inoculation: absence of inoculation; seed inoculation; leaf inoculation; seed inoculation associated to leaf inoculation. In the phenological stages V8 and VT the parameters number of leaves, aerial height, root volume, stem diameter, besides the leaves, stem, sheath, root and total dry mass and the leaf content of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were determined. In the R6 stage, in addition to the previous evaluations the following parameters were determined: ear diameter and length, number of kernel rows, number of kernels per row, the reproductive structure and thousand grains dry mass, and total number of grains, besides the grain’s content of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. The SPAD index from the leave’s apex, medial and basal thirds was measured fortnightly. The inoculation methods with A. brasilense had little influence in maize’s morphometric and nutritional parameters, also not influencing in production. Maize plants inoculated with A. brasilense, via seed and via seed associated to leaf spraying, positively stood out for the stem diameter, leaves dry mas, root volume, and for the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium leaf content.