The influence of the addition of Amaranthus cruenthus seed meal to the medium, as nutrient and growth factor, on protease production by Bacillus subtilis 3411 was studied. Tests were carried out in a rotary shaker and in mechanically stirred fermenters. The influence of aeration was also evaluated. The addition of amaranth in a concentration of 20 g/L resulted in 400% increase in protease production. Aeration up to 750 r.p.m. and 1 L/L.min had a favorable effect.

The addition of xanthan to high water retention capacity peat (HWRC) inoculants did not show differences on the survival of Bradyrhizobium japonicum E109. In low water retention capacity peats (LWRC) however, xanthan increased the survival of B. japonicum significantly. Xanthan showed the best effect at 0.1 g/l for B. japonicum, in contrast to Sinorhizobium fredii USDA205 where the concentrations evaluated (0-1.0 g/l) did not affected significantly its survival. Nevertheless, when the symbiotic performance on soybean was evaluated, the presence of 0.1 g xanthan/l increased the nodule number for both strains.

Nine different growth media were evaluated to determine the best growth conditions to achieve cultures of a high cell number of fast-growing rhizobia to produce inoculants. We found that Sinorhizobium fredii strains have complex nutritional requirements that were fulfilled by adding to the media 4 g Amaranthus cruentus L. seed meal/l. The survival of fast growing strains is a variable trait, but those strains that survived at high levels even after 6month storage, hypernodulated soybeans and fixed atmospheric nitrogen at levels as high as those of Bradyrhizobium japonicum.

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