Cowpea development as a function of the application of doses of biofertilizer inoculated with Bradyrhizobium
Acidithiobacillus. Vigna unguiculata. Sulfur. Biological Fixation of Nitrogen.
The production of commercial crops, such as cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp), can be limited by alkalinity and excess of soluble salts in soils. The correction of violation, in general, is carried out with the use of conditioners such as plaster. Although it contributes to the reduction of salts in the soil, gypsum does not reduce alkalinity. However, elemental sulfur, when associated with a bacterium of the genus Acidithbacillus thiooxidans and applied in soils with acidifying alkaline pH, is capable of promoting a pH reduction action. The objective of this work was to reduce the soil pH through the use of conditioners and to increase the nutrient contents in the soil as a function of the application of different doses of BNPK biofertilizer. The study was carried out in a forest house at UFRPE, using a Fluvic Neosol (0-20 cm) collected in the region of Ibimirim-PE. A completely randomized design (DIC) was used in a 3x3x2 + 1 factorial scheme, where the interactions between 3 types of conditioning (gypsum; sulfur + bacteria and gypsum + sulfur + bacteria), 3 fertilizers (BNPK at doses 50, 100 and 150%), in the absence and presence of Bradyrhizobium (BR 3267) and one more absolute control treatment (with the absence of the treatments used), with 3 replications, totaling 57 experimental plots. Each experimental plot consisted of a pot (6 kg of soil) with a cowpea plant. Variation analysis data were selected as the evaluation variation tests, while for qualitative tests of averages were used in the Sisvar 5.0 statistical program. For the data referring to the final soil and plant, these were compared to the treatment and information on Dunnett mean comparison test (p<0.05) using the Statistics 7.0 software. With this, it is concluded that for the evaluation conditions or time it is an active factor for the reduction of pH and EC of the soil. Emphasizing the sulfur conditioning when associated with the bacterium Acidithiobac thiooxidans, as more efficient for the reduction of soil pH. Application of the sulfur + bacterium A. thiooxidans, associated with the application of the leaching blade reduces the exchangeable Na content in the soil. The BNPK was capable of providing nutrients to the soil and the plant, in particular, and calcium, in addition to contributing to the increase in the number of facilities and total-N in the aerial part of the plant.