Agronomic performance of maize (Zea mays L.) genotypes under Azospirillum brasilense application and mineral fertilization

Abstract


 Maize has a high nitrogen demand; as a result, more sustainable alternatives are needed to reduce demand for mineral fertilizers. This study aimed to evaluate and characterize the agronomic performance of maize genotypes submitted to topdressing nitrogen fertilization and inoculation with Azospirillum brasilense. An experiment was conducted in the second season of 2017, in Jaboticabal-SP (Brazil), using 48 maize genotypes in a randomized block design. Treatments consisted of: 1) application of 140 kg ha-1 nitrogen, using urea as mineral fertilizer; 2) A. brasilense inoculation via soil, at a rate of 600 mL ha-1, as biological fertilization. Grain yield and agronomic traits were evaluated. The data were subjected to analysis of variance (F-Test), means were compared by Scott-Knott test at 5% probability, and multivariate statistical analysis was performed by principal component analysis. A. brasilense inoculation via soil has a significant effect on female flowering, on the interaction between genotype versus N supply for Fusarium spp., and increases the maize grain yield; however, the responses of agronomic attributes vary with genotype.
 Highlights
 
 The inoculation with Azospirillum brasilense via soil increases maize grain yield, becoming viable and more sustainable alternative in the supply of nitrogen.
 The choice of the genotypes is an essential fator for the sucessful use of Azospirillum brasilense application or mineral fertilization, because the responses of agronomic attributes vary with the genotype.
 The most contrasting genotypes can be recombined in new stages of crossbreeding and selection, aiming at obtaining genotypes with greater yield potential in the use of Azospirillum brasilense inoculation.
 Further studies are needed to better understand this technology under conditions with different genotypes, soils and production systems.

Biometric genetics in cowpea beans (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) I: phenotypic and genotypic relations among production components

“…It should also be noted that many of these variables were previously evaluated in other studies with coefficients of variation between similar ranges (26,41). Thus, our experimental precision may be considered adequate (5,45).…”

Effects of growth conditions on the physicochemical, mineral, and amino acid profile of polyembryonic maize

“…In the second experiment, NAP and AE genotypes were subjected to two population densities (low density [LD] = 73,000 and high density [HD] = 93,000 plants/ha) and two fertilization rates (low fertilization dose [LF] = 120 N, 60 P, 0 K, and higher fertilization dose [HF] = 240 N, 90 P, 0 K). Both genotype samples were sown in July 2015 and harvested in December 2015 (Alcalá‐Rico et al, 2019). Kernel samples were dried and ground to a size of less than 1 mm.…”

“…Worldwide, maize ( Zea mays L.) is one of the most important cereals due to its high consumption and production per year, with a production of more than 1147 million tons per year; this is because its physicochemical properties are important for human nutrition, so different techniques have been used to continuously improve its nutritional quality (Garcia‐Ortiz, González‐Centeno, et al, 2022; Scott & Emery, 2015). One of the methods to improve nutritional quality is through alterations of agronomic management using fertilizers with high proportions of nitrogen and sulfur (Liu et al, 2021) as well as crossbreeding with varieties with high protein concentrations; one of these types of grains with high protein concentrations is polyembryonic (PEm) maize (Alcalá‐Rico et al, 2019). Polyembryonic maize represents genotypes that can produce multiple plants from a single seed (Espinoza et al, 1998), which provides different agronomic benefits and better quality in terms of protein and fatty acid content (Espinoza Velázquez, 2012; González Vázquez et al, 2011; Lizbeth & Lara, 2005; Musito‐Ramírez et al, 2008; Requena et al, 2011).…”

Seed treatments with salicylic acid and Azospirillum brasilense enhance growth and yield of maize plants (Zea mays L.) under field conditions

“…Faced with such a situation, finding alternatives entailing reduced agrochemical applications may contribute to reduced soil degradation. In this sense, several biofertilizers based on nitrogen-fixing microorganisms have shown positive effects on certain cultivated plants, such as maize (3,25,32), sorghum (19), soybeans (10), and rice (12).…”