Sinergia biológica en la nutrición de alfalfa

DIAZ ZORITA, MARTIN

Morteros, Córdoba

Jornada; Jornadas Tecnicas Forratec 2013; 2013

Forratec

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is one of the more important forage species for livestock and dairy production in temperate regions. Its high productivity demands an efficient establishment and adequate nitrogen nutrition based on the BNF from the symbiosis with Sinorhizobium meliloti. Other microorganisms from the rhizosphere, like Azospirillum sp., could improve the growth of alfalfa roots and also to facilitate the nodulation and the BNF. The objective of this study was to quantify the changes in the establishment and early production of alfalfa pastures when including Azospirillum brasilense with the traditional inoculation treatment with S. meliloti. The experiments were performed in 21 sites from the pampas region of Argentina between 2004 and 2011 growing seasons. Three were the evaluated treatments (i) control without biological seed treatment, (ii) S.meliloti and (iii) S. meliloti + A. brasilense. The application of the biological seed treatments enhances the establishment and the forage production. The inoculation with S.meliloti showed 14.7% more dry matter production than the control without biological seed treatment. When A.brasilense was combined in the biological treatment, the dry matter response was doubled (28.5%). Between both biological seed treatments, the dry matter production per plant was greater (p<0.039) when A. brasilense was combined with S. meliloti (1.69 kg plant-1) than when only S. meliloti was applied (1.65 kg plant-1). These results validate the benefits on the early growth of individual alfalfa plants from the combined activity of A. brasilense and S. meliloti.