Preinoculation of Soybean Seeds Treated with Agrichemicals up to 30 Days before Sowing: Technological Innovation for Large-Scale Agriculture.

The cultivation of soybean in Brazil experienced an expressive growth in the last decades. Soybean is highly demanding on nitrogen (N) that must come from fertilizers or from biological fixation. The N supply to the soybean crop in Brazil relies on the inoculation with elite strains of Bradyrhizobium japonicum, B. elkanii, and B. diazoefficiens, which are able to fulfill the crop's N requirements and enrich the soil for the following crop. The effectiveness of the association between N2-fixing bacteria and soybean plants depends on the efficacy of the inoculation process. Seed treatment with pesticides, especially fungicides or micronutrients, may rapidly kill the inoculated bacteria, affecting the establishment and outcome of the symbiosis. The development of technologies that allow inoculation to become a successful component of industrial seed treatment represents a valuable tool for the seed industry, as well as for the soybean crop worldwide. In this article, we report the results of new technologies, developed by the company Total Biotecnologia Indústria e Comércio S/A of Brazil, for preinoculation of soybean seeds with bradyrhizobia, in the presence of agrichemicals. Our results demonstrate improved bacterial survival for up to 30 days after inoculation, without compromising nodulation, N2-fixation, and yield in the field.

Accessing inoculation methods of maize and wheat with Azospirillum brasilense.

The utilization of inoculants containing Azospirillum is becoming more popular due to increasing reports of expressive gains in grain yields. However, incompatibility with pesticides used in seed treatments represents a main limitation for a successful inoculation. Therefore, in this study we searched for alternatives methods for seed inoculation of maize and wheat, aiming to avoid the direct contact of bacteria with pesticides. Different doses of inoculants containing Azospirillum brasilense were employed to perform inoculation in-furrow, via soil spray at sowing and via leaf spray after seedlings had emerged, in comparison to seed inoculation. Experiments were conducted first under greenhouse controlled conditions and then confirmed in the field at different locations in Brazil. In the greenhouse, most parameters measured responded positively to the largest inoculant dose used in foliar sprays, but benefits could also be observed from both in-furrow and soil spray inoculation. However, our results present evidence that field inoculation with plant-growth promoting bacteria must consider inoculant doses, and point to the need of fine adjustments to avoid crossing the threshold of growth stimulation and inhibition. All inoculation techniques increased the abundance of diazotrophic bacteria in plant tissues, and foliar spray improved colonization of leaves, while soil inoculations favored root and rhizosphere colonization. In field experiments, inoculation with A. brasilense allowed for a 25 % reduction in the need for N fertilizers. Our results have identified alternative methods of inoculation that were as effective as the standard seed inoculation that may represent an important strategy to avoid the incompatibility between inoculant bacteria and pesticides employed for seed treatment.

Maize growth promotion by inoculation with Azospirillum brasilense and metabolites of Rhizobium tropici enriched on lipo-chitooligosaccharides (LCOs).

There is an increasing interest in the development and use of inoculants carrying plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) in crops of agronomic interest. The great majority of the inoculants commercialized worldwide contain rhizobia for legume crops, but the use of PGPB as Azospirillum spp. for non-legume is expanding, as well as of inoculants combining microorganisms and microbial metabolites. In this study we evaluated the effects of inoculants containing Azospirillum brasilense with or without metabolites of Rhizobium tropici strain CIAT 899 highly enriched in lipo-chitooligosaccharides (LCOs) in six field experiments performed for three summer crop seasons in Brazil with maize (Zea mays L.). Inoculants and metabolites were applied either at sowing by seed inoculation, or by leaf spray at the V3 stage of plant growth. Improvement in shoot dry weight (SDW) and total N accumulated in shoots (TNS) by single, but especially by dual inoculation was observed in some of the experiments. Statistically significant increases in grain yield in relation to the non-inoculated control were observed in five out of six experiments when maize was inoculated with Azospirillum supplied with enriched metabolites of R. tropici applied by seed or leaf spray inoculation. The results give strength to the development of a new generation of inoculants carrying microorganisms and microbial molecules.

Sobrevivência e nodulação do Rhizobium tropici em sementes de feijão tratadas com fungicidas / Survival and nodulation of Rhizobium tropici on common bean seeds treated with fungicides

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a sobrevivência e a capacidade de nodulação do Rhizobium tropici em sementes de feijão tratadas com fungicidas. O estudo foi realizado em laboratório e em casa de vegetação. Sementes de feijão (Phaseolus vulgaris) foram tratadas com seis diferentes fungicidas e inoculadas com Rhizobium tropici estirpe CIAT 899. A sobrevivência do Rhizobium nas sementes foi avaliada no tempo 0 e 24 horas após o tratamento com fungicidas e a inoculação, utilizando o método do número mais provável (NMP). A nodulação do feijão, em plantio realizado no tempo 0 e 24 horas após o tratamento com fungicidas, e a inoculação foram avaliadas em solo com população estabelecida de Rhizobium nativo aos trinta dias após a emergência das plantas. A sobrevivência do Rhizobium inoculado nas sementes foi prejudicada pela aplicação dos fungicidas avaliados. A nodulação do feijoeiro foi reduzida pela aplicação dos fungicidas, quando o plantio foi realizado 24 horas após o tratamento das sementes. Entretanto, foram encontrados nódulos em todos os tratamentos, evidenciando que houve nodulação do Rhizobium nativo do solo.

The aim of this work was to evaluate the survival and nodulation of Rhizobium tropici on common bean seeds treated with fungicides. The study was conduced out at laboratory and greenhouse conditions. Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) seeds were treated with six fungicides and inoculated with Rhizobium tropici strain CIAT 899. The survival of Rhizobium on seeds was evaluated 0 and 24 hours after treatment with fungicides and inoculation, using the most probable number (MPN) method. The nodulation of common bean thirty days after plant emergence, in plantation conduced 0 and 24 hours after seeds treatment with fungicides and inoculation, was evaluated in soil with population of native Rhizobium. The fungicides harmed the survival of inoculated Rhizobium on seeds and, in plantation conduced 24 hours after seeds treatment, reduced the nodulation of common bean. However, nodules were found in all plants, suggesting nodulation by native Rhizobium of soil.