African Journal of
Biotechnology

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Biotechnol.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1684-5315
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJB
  • Start Year: 2002
  • Published Articles: 12487

Full Length Research Paper

Performance of polymer compositions as carrier to cowpea rhizobial inoculant formulations: Survival of rhizobia in pre-inoculated seeds and field efficiency

Paulo Ivan Fernandes Júnior1*, Elson Barbosa da Silva Júnior2, Sebastião da Silva Júnior3, Carolina Etienne Rosalia da Silva e Santos3, Paulo Jansen de Oliveira4, Norma Gouvêa Rumjanek5, Lindete Míria Vieira Martins and Gustavo Ribeiro Xavier5    
1Embrapa Semiárido, BR 428, Km 152, Petrolina, PE, Brazil. 2Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Agronomia, Departamento de Solos, BR 465, Km 07, Seropédica, RJ, Brazil. 3Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Departamento de Agronomia, Rua Dom Manuel de Medeiros s/n°, Recife, PE, Brazil. 4Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Tecnologia, Departamento de Engenharia Química, BR 465, Km 07, Seropédica, RJ, Brazil. 5Embrapa Agrobiologia, BR 465, Km 07, Seropédica, RJ, Brazil. 6Universidade do Estado da Bahia, Departamento de Tecnologia e Ciências Sociais, Avenida Edgard Chastinet s/n°, Juazeiro, BA, Brazil.    
Email: [email protected]

  •  Accepted: 12 August 2011
  •  Published: 09 February 2012

Abstract

Rhizobial-legume association is a symbiosis that is exploited in agriculture by inoculant production. Efficient inoculant formulations are needed to increase the biological nitrogen fixation rates in agroecosystems. The aim of this work was to evaluate inoculant formulations to cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) containing polymers as carrier materials and rhizobial strains. To assess the efficiency of the new inoculants formulations, the rhizobial survival in inoculated and stored seeds and the field performance of a selected formulation were evaluated. The rhizobial survival was higher in cowpea seeds inoculated with MgO compatibilized polymeric formulations, compared to standard peat-based inoculant and compatibilized polymeric formulations compatibilized with ZnO. Seeds inoculated with IPC 2.2 formulation presented more than 106 cells per seed through 35 days of storage with low contamination levels. The field performance of the polymeric compositions was the same as that observed in the peat-based inoculant treatments. Among the three rhizobial strains isolated, two of them were able to provide the same shoot nitrogen content and productivity in comparison to the recommended strain. These results indicate the feasibility of inoculants with the polymer blends as carrier materials and the efficiency of the new fast growing rhizobia from Brazilian semi-arid.

 

Key words: Inoculant technology, strain selection, biological nitrogen fixation.

Abbreviation

 

Abbreviations: BNF, Biological nitrogen fixation; CFU, colony forming units.

 

Copyright © 2024 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article.

This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

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