Contribuição das bactérias diazotróficas no crescimento de Brachiaria brizhanta cv. Marandu

Abstract

One of the main factors that affect growth and persistence of grasses in the tropics, thus increasing the degradation of pastures, is a nitrogen deficiency in the soil. However, nitrogen fertilizers much burden the production costs, and the demand for food increasing year by year, has emphasized the need for sustainable alternatives, such as biological nitrogen fixation. It is necessary to do more research on Biological Nitrogen Fixation (BNF) in forage grasses, especially about diversity among nitrogen-fixing bacteria associated with these plants, so that new bacteria can be discovered, as well as its potential to FBN. This study aimed to isolate diazotrophic bacteria of the genus Azospirillum spp. or Herbaspirillum spp., from two cultivars of B. brizhanta (Marandu and Xaraés) and one of B. decumbens (IPEAN), to test them, and to assess their contribution to the growth of Brachiaria brizhanta cv. Marandu identifying the three most promising. This study was conducted at Embrapa Agrobiology in Seropédica - RJ, in two stages. The first was to isolate possible diazotrophic bacteria from Brachiaria brizantha and B. decumbens plants, using the cultivars Marandu and Xaraés B. brizantha, and the cultivar IPEAN of B. decumbens. The isolation was performed using three semi-solid media, NFB, LGI and JNFb, where the first two selected bacteria of the genus Azospirillum, and the third one Herbaspirillum bacteria. There were selected 46 isolates and, after purification, it was obtained 15 isolates pure, and made the phenotypic characterization thereof. Further biochemical tests were the phosphate solubilization, acetylene reduction analysis (ARA), and production of acid-3-indole acetic (IAA). All tested isolates produced ARA ethylene, even in small quantities, with prominence for isolates L2, L4, J3, J6, J7 and J8. In the phosphate solubilization the isolates N1, L1, J2, J3, J4, J5, J6, J7, J8, and T14 were able to solubilize phosphate. In the EIA production the isolates N1, J1, J2, J3, J4, J5, J6, J7, J8 and J9 excelled. In the second phase it was conducted an experiment to study plant - bacteria interaction. It consisted of the inoculation of 15 isolates from the first phase plus three isolates known as references (SP245, Z94, CBAMC) in B. brizhanta cultivar Marandu, plus the control without inoculation and without N. In this experiment the isolates L2, L4 and J6 outstand when compared to the other seven parameters evaluated. On the basis of this study we can conclude that there are nitrogen fixing bacteria, phosphate solubilizing, and that produce 3-indoleacetic acid, associated to Brachiaria brizhanta and Brachiaria decumbens. The isolated bacteria of the two B. brizhanta cultivars (Marandu and Xaraés), and the Brachiaria decumbens (IPEAN) cultivar were more efficient in the growth of B. brizhanta cultivar Marandu than the bacteria standards obtained from other plant species. Also, among the 15 isolates from Brachiaria plants, the J6, L2 and L4 were statistically different from the others, and are considered the three most promising.