Growth Promoting Microorganisms for Treatment of Soybean Seeds

The use of microorganisms that promote plant growth is an important tool for increasing agricultural production; besides, there is an emerging demand for decreasing utilization of chemical fertilizers and to solidify sustainable agriculture. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of growth promoting microorganisms Bradyrhizobium elkanii and Trichoderma harzianum for treatment of soybean seeds. This experiment was conducted at the Regional Institute of Rural Development (IRDeR), in Augusto Pestana, RS, Brazil. The experimental design was randomized blocks and treatments were- control, Trichoderma harzianum, Bradyrhizobium elkanii, and co-inoculated Trichoderma harzianum + Bradyrhizobium elkanii, with four replications per treatment. The sample units were five rows 5 m in length, spaced at 0.5 m, and three central lines were used to analyze the components of soybean yield. Of these, two lines were harvested 4 m, and the incidence of soil diseases in the plants was evaluated in one of the lines. Treatments means were compared using Tukey test. There was an effect of treatments- B. elkanii and treatment with co-inoculation B. elkanii and T. harzianum showed a significant response to grain yield. The chemical treatment without microorganisms with a biological effect had a higher incidence of diseases and a lower yield of grains.