Combined effects of chemical fertilization and microbial inoculant on nutrient use efficiency and soil quality indicators

Abstract

Microbial inoculant based on beneficial bacteria is a complementary management tool to increase vegetable production. However, its integration with chemical fertilization has been poorly studied. The present study evaluated the effects of microbial inoculant separately and in combination with chemical fertilization on lettuce under greenhouse conditions. An experiment was performed in pots using a completely randomized design. The microbial inoculant was applied at three fertilization levels. Soil response evaluated variables were: available N and P, total soil bacteria, soil enzymatic activities, and N leaching. Agronomic variables measured were: aerial biomass, chlorophyll content, and nutrient foliar contents. Microbial inoculant had a significant impact on soil total bacteria concentration. The application of reduced chemical fertilization and microbial inoculant had a similar effect in terms of soil nutrient availability and soil enzymatic activities as the complete fertilization. Nitrogen leaching was strongly dependent on chemical fertilization rate. Treatment application decreased chlorophyll concentration compared to the control. The application of microbial inoculant and chemical fertilization increased foliar N and P contents improving their uptake. The combined addition of microbial inoculant with chemical fertilization increases the bacteria concentration without altering enzymatic activities, maintaining similar soil nutrient levels and improving N and P uptake in lettuce. Future studies could be performed in lettuce to determine the impact under different growth stages and different soil conditions.

Preliminary studies of the physico-chemical properties of basalt rock flour from the Męcinka mine in Lower Silesia for agriculture

“…Intensive fertilization is necessary to achieve better yields, but it can endanger the natural environment of the soil and disrupt its homeostasis (Angulo et al 2020). It is known that soil organisms mineralize organic plant and animal matter and the released minerals provide food for plants.…”

A bacterial formula with native strains as alternative to chemical fertiliser for tomato crop

“…However, tomato is one of the plants most widely used in PGPB application, not only because of its high economic value but also because, being a fast-growing plant species, allows evaluating a high number of strains to select those best performing (Cordero et al 2018). Nonetheless, a small number of studies compared the effects of the biofertilisation and chemical fertilisers, and even fewer included a stress factor in the comparison (Cordero et al 2018;Angulo et al 2020). Moreover, previous research on different crops concluded that PGPB inoculation must be combined with chemical treatment to have the best results on plant growth (Bona et al 2018;Cordero et al 2018;Angulo et al 2020).…”

“…Nonetheless, a small number of studies compared the effects of the biofertilisation and chemical fertilisers, and even fewer included a stress factor in the comparison (Cordero et al 2018;Angulo et al 2020). Moreover, previous research on different crops concluded that PGPB inoculation must be combined with chemical treatment to have the best results on plant growth (Bona et al 2018;Cordero et al 2018;Angulo et al 2020). The same assertion was reported for the tomato species: several authors wrote about the positive effect of microbial inoculation under environmental or biological stresses such as drought, salinity (Mannino et al 2020;Riva et al 2021), nutrient de ciency in soils, and pathogens; anyway, the few studies that compared bio-and chemical fertilisation, described a lower yield in fruit production when chemicals have been completely replaced by PGPB inoculations (Adesemoye et al 2009; Ye et al 2020).…”

“…The bene cial effects of PGPB have been demonstrated in many studies on species of agronomic interest including cucumber (Gamalero et al 2008), pepper (del Amor and Cuadra-Crespo 2012), pumpkin, corn, broccoli, lettuce (Angulo et al 2020). However, tomato is one of the plants most widely used in PGPB application, not only because of its high economic value but also because, being a fast-growing plant species, allows evaluating a high number of strains to select those best performing (Cordero et al 2018).…”

Bacillus cereus Improves Performance of Brazilian Green Dwarf Coconut Palms Seedlings With Reduced Chemical Fertilization

“…They also stimulate the synthesis of phytohormones such as indole acetic acid (IAA) and gibberellins that promote root and shoot growth (Pahari and Mishra, 2017). Rhizobacteria also optimize the use of CFs and are considered a sustainable technology (Angulo et al, 2020). They include N 2 fixers, phosphorus, and potassium solubilizers (Bhardwaj et al, 2014).…”