Biofertilizer based on mycorrhizal fungi and rhizobacteria in maize cultivation under two water regimes

Abstract

Biostimulants are able to increase tolerance to water and salt stress and help enhance the absorption of nutrients from the soil, in addition to increasing the extension of roots, they are also effective in the synthesis of plant hormones (such auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins) and in the capacity to make insoluble phosphorus in the soil available to plants, minimizing the effects of biotic and abiotic stresses. The objective of this study was to evaluate the phytotechnical and physiological responses of maize subjected to two water regimes and a biostimulant containing mycorrhizae and rhizobacteria of the genus Bacillus spp., through the characterization of the antioxidant response conditioned by this association. The experiment was set up in a 5x2 factorial scheme, with five treatments related to the doses of biostimulant [negative control; 0.250 kg ha-1; 0.500 kg ha-1; 0.750 kg ha-1 and 1 kg ha-1] and two water availability levels (60% and 100% of field capacity), with four replicates, totaling 40 pots. The following growth parameters were analyzed at 15 and 30 days after planting: plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, root length and root volume, as well as the following biochemical parameters: lipid peroxidation, total peroxidase and catalase of leaf and root. The biostimulant promoted an increase in the growth of the aerial part and root system of corn plants, in addition to an adjustment of antioxidant enzymes, indicating that, up to 30 days after planting (DAP), corn plants show better adaptability to the water regime with 60% of field capacity.