YIELD OF THE IRRIGATED WHEAT CROP SUBJECTED TO NITROGEN APPLICATION AND TO INOCULATION WITH AZOSPIRILLUM BRASILENSE

Inoculating wheat seeds with nitrogen-fixing bacteria such as Azospirillum brasilense may be beneficial to the crop and reduce the need for N application. Nevertheless, few studies have measured the benefit of this practice on irrigated wheat with the expectation of high yield and demand for N. The objective of this study was to evaluate the yield and N content of irrigated wheat under different N application rates, with and without inoculation with A. brasilense. Two experiments were carried out in 2011 and reevaluated in 2012. In each crop year, one experiment was set up in an area with low N availability in the soil (growing in succession to maize) and another with high availability (growing in succession to soybean or carrots). The treatments consisted of five N application rates, and inoculation or no inoculation with A. brasilense. The N rates tested were 20, 60, 100, 140, and 180 kg ha-1 in the area with low N availability, and 20, 50, 80, 110, and 140 kg ha-1 in the area with high N availability. Yield, grains per spike, dry matter accumulation in the shoots, N content in the index leaf and in the grain, and N uptake and export were evaluated. The N content in the index leaf increased through inoculation with A. brasilense, However, the N taken up was not affected by inoculation of the bacteria. The N applied increased wheat yield, and this increase was more evident in the area with low N availability in the soil.