Open Access

ARTICLE

Trichoderma spp. and Bacillus spp. as growth promoters in maize (Zea mays L.)

López-Valenzuela BE^1,2, Armenta-Bojórquez AD³, Hernández-Verdugo S⁴, Apodaca- Sánchez MA¹, Samaniego-Gaxiola JA⁵, Valdez-Ortiz A⁶

1 Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa. Facultad de Agricultura del Valle del Fuerte. Avenida Japaraqui y Calle 16 s/n, Juan José Ríos, Sinaloa, C.P 81110, México.
2 Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. Instituto de Ciencias Agrícolas. Carretera a Delta s/n, Ejido Nuevo león, Baja California, C.P. 21705, México.
3 Instituto Politécnico Nacional. Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional Unidad Sinaloa. Blvd. Juan de Dios Bátiz Paredes #250, Colonia San Joachin, Guasave, Sinaloa, C.P. 81101, México.
4 Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, Facultad de Agronomía. Km.17.5, Carretera Culiacán-El Dorado, Culiacán Rosales, Sinaloa, C.P. 80000, México.
5 Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales Agrícolas y Pecuarias, Campo Experimental La Laguna, Blvd. José Santos Valdez 1200 Pte. Matamoros, Coahuila, C.P. 27440, México.
6 Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, Facultad de Ciencias Químico Biológicas. Calzada de las Américas y Calle Universitarios, s/n. Ciudad Universitaria, Culiacán, Sinaloa, C.P. 80013, México.

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2019, 88(1), 37-46. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2019.04621

Abstract

Microbes that are beneficial to plants are used to enhance the crop growth, yield and are alternatives to chemical fertilizers. Trichoderma and Bacillus are the predominant plant growth-promoting fungi and bacteria. The objective of this study was select, characterize, and evaluate isolates of Trichoderma spp. and Bacillus spp. native from the northern region of Sinaloa, Mexico, and assess their effect on growth promotion in maize (Zea mays L.). In greenhouse conditions, four Trichoderma isolates and twenty Bacillus isolates, as well as two controls, were tested in a completely randomized design with three replicates. We selected the two best strains of Trichoderma and Bacillus: TB = Trichoderma asperellum, TF = Trichoderma virens, B14 = Bacillus cereus sensu lato and B17 = Bacillus cereus, which were evaluated in the field in a completely randomized blocks in factorial arrangement design with three replicates applying different rates of nitrogen fertilizer (0, 150 kg N/ha, and 300 kg N/ha). Treatments 5 (B17 = B. cereus) and 11 (TF = T. virens) both fertilized with 150 kg N/ha showed similar yields and they did not reveal significant differences from the treatments fertilized with 300 kg N/ha. This indicated that treatment 5 (B17= B. cereus with 150 kg N/ha) and treatment 11 (TF= T. virens with 150 kg N/ha) were efficient as growth promoters, by not showing significant differences in root volume and dry weight of foliage. The results indicated a reduction of 50% in the rate of nitrogen to fertilizer required for maize (Zea mays L.) crops. These microorganisms Trichoderma and Bacillus could be an alternative to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers in maize.

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