Bradyrhizobium brasilense as an efficient soybean microsymbiont in two contrasting soils of the southwestern region of Piauí (Cerrado biome)

The goal of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of Bradyrhizobium brasilense strains native to the soil of the semiarid region in northeastern Brazil in symbiosis with soybeans in two contrasting soils in southwestern Piaui. A pot experiment was conducted using a randomized block design in a 10 × 2 factorial scheme. There were 10 nitrogen (N) sources: six native Bradyrhizobium strains [UFLA06-13, UFLA06-15, UFLA06-19, UFLA06-21, UFLA06-22 (B. brasilense), and UFLA06-24 (Bradyrhizobium sp.)], two controls with strain SEMIA 5019 (B. elkanii) and a commercial inoculant [SEMIA 5079 (B. japonicum) + SEMIA 5080 (B. diazoefficiens)] recommended for soybeans, and two controls without the application of an inoculant (one with and the other without the application of mineral N). The second experimental factor corresponded to the use of two soils (Oxisol and Quartzarenic Neosol). All strains showed increased nodulation and shoot nitrogen content in soybean plants in both soils. Most strains promoted higher nitrogen fixation when inoculated in the Oxisol. UFLA06-19, UFLA06-22, and UFLA06-24 were efficient in nitrogen accumulation in the shoots of soybeans in the Oxisol. This is the first report regarding the efficiency of B. brasilense strains in symbiosis with soybeans under different soil conditions.