Agronomic performance of cowpea cultivars inoculated with rhizobia in the brazilian semiarid region

Abstract

This work aimed to evaluate the agronomic efficiency of cowpea cultivars inoculated with rhizobia strains recommended for cowpea in a semiarid environment. Experiments were carried out in Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, in two agricultural cycles: the first from January to April 2019, and the second from June to August of the same year. The experimental design adopted was randomized blocks with four replications arranged in a 4 × 4 x 2 factorial scheme, with treatments consisting of four cowpea cultivars: ‘BRS Imponente’, ‘BRS Itaim’, ‘BRS Novaera’, and ‘BRS Tumucumaque’ as well as three sources of N, two strains of Bradyrhizobium spp. registered for cowpea (BR 3262 and BR 3267) and, the application of mineral N (50 kg ha-1), beyond an absolute control, without inoculation or application of mineral N. In addition to two planting seasons. The cultivar ‘BRS Tumucumaque’ showed greater productive potential. The inoculation of cowpea seeds with Bradyrhizobium strains BR 3262 and BR 3267 provided grain yields similar to those obtained with the application of mineral N.