The practice of inoculation, the use of bacteria for biological nitrogen fixation, is already consolidated in soybean cultivation, replacing chemical fertilizers. A new possibility is coinoculation, that is, the use of two or more microbiological agents beneficial to the culture.
This was the subject of a study conducted by the Department of Agricultural Diagnosis and Research of the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Sustainable Production and Irrigation (DDPA/Seapi), the results of which were published in the Technical Bulletin "Benefits of coinoculation of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in crop soy".
The research evaluated the inoculation of the bacterium Bradyrhizobium elkanii and co-inoculation with the bacterium Azospirillum brasilense, observing parameters of plant growth and nodulation in soybean crops – that is, the formation of nodules on the plant's roots for biological nitrogen fixation.
“We concluded that inoculation and coinoculation significantly increased the number and weight of nitrogen-fixing nodules. There was also an increase in the biological fixation activity that occurs in the nodules formed by the association of plant roots with the inoculated bacteria”, explains researcher Gerusa Pauli Kist Steffen, one of the authors of the publication.
The combined use of the evaluated bioinputs also provided an increase in the fresh root mass and aerial part of soybeans, compared to non-inoculated plants.
“The practices of inoculation and coinoculation of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in soybean crops represent technically viable tools for producers, capable of enhancing the productive efficiency of soybean crops and providing greater economic and environmental sustainability”, concludes Gerusa.
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