Differences in Nodulation and Grain Yield on Common Bean Cultivars with Different Growth Cycles

Abstract

The common bean can obtain nitrogen (N) from the decomposition of the soil organic matter, mineral fertilizers, and biological nitrogen fixation (BNF). This study aimed to evaluate the behavior of nodulation parameters related to BNF throughout the development of common bean cultivars with different growth cycles. The experiments were conducted for two consecutive years (2012 and 2013) with 22 common bean cultivars with different growth cycles. The common bean cultivars were inoculated with a mixture of Rhizobium tropici strains (SEMIA 4077, SEMIA 4080, and SEMIA 4088). In 2012, samplings were performed from the V4 to the R8 stage, and the parameters related to nodulation and crop growth were evaluated at each stage and in the R9 stage, the grain yield and its components were measured. For the 2013 experiment, the same evaluations were performed but the nodulation parameters were only measured in the R6 and the R7 stages. Differences in the number and activity of the nodules along the development of the cultivars were observed. For the early and semi-early cycle cultivars, the activity of the nodules was observed until the R7 stage, while for the regular and late cycle cultivars, this activity only occurred until the R6 stage, resulting in three more days of nodule activity for the early and semi-early cycle cultivars as compared to the regular and late ones. The number of nodules correlated significantly with the shoot dry weight and the shoot Total-N; while the nodules dry mass showed a significantly high correlation with both parameters. The overall mean grain yield was 2,766.75 kg ha −1 . However significant difference related solely to the various cultivars cycles were not observed. ARTICLE HISTORY

Rhizobium strains selected from the Amazon region increase the yield of snap bean genotypes in protected cultivation

“…As this senescence occurs naturally at the beginning of anthesis, due to generalized signal synthesis in the shoots or during grain filling, this process is accelerated in shorter cycle genotypes (Puppo et al 2005). The early nodule senescence occurs without necessarily reducing the effectiveness of the nodules and the active period of biological fixation of N 2 and it does not indicate poor efficiency of the genetic material in symbiosis or low capacity of BNF (Fonseca et al 2013;Andraus et al 2016).…”

“…The effectiveness of the nodules, however, appears not to have been compromised, given that the mean values were equivalent (SNC, Table 2) or even greater (NP, PFM, and PDM, Tables 1 and 2) than those of the longer cycle cultivars. Furthermore, mechanisms inherent to short cycle cultivars, which have the ability to extend the BNF period to the R7 stage of pod formation (Andraus et al 2016), may have been decisive for this contribution, allowing continued fixation in the remaining nodules.…”

Response of common bean to Rhizobium reinoculation in topdressing

“…A study conducted by Araújo et al (2007) verified that only one inoculant application with SEMIA 4077/SEMIA 4080 strains in bean enabled to obtain the highest grain yield in bean, 1.783 kg ha -1 , compared to mineral fertilization with N and control (without inoculant or nitrogen fertilization), whose average yields were 1.314 and 950 kg ha -1 , respectively. Inoculation can also provide bean yields close to those obtained in crops that have adopted a high technological level in the activity, ranging from 2.500 to 3.500 kg ha -1 (Andraus et al, 2016).…”

Productivity and Economics of Inoculated Common Bean as Affected by Nitrogen Application at Different Phenological Phases

“…According to Andraus et al (2016), a good nodulation reflects in improved plant growth. However, N application rates reduces nodulation but increases common bean vegetative growth (Soares et al 2016), as observed in our study.…”