Evaluation of the agronomic characteristics of cowpea submitted to inoculation with different strains

Abstract

The average productivity of cowpea is considered low due to the low technological contribution.
Therefore, it is necessary to use sustainable techniques with the purpose of improving
the production characteristics of the crop, with a reduction in cost and less impact on the
environment, caused by the use of chemical fertilizer. The objective of the work was to verify
the efficiency of different strains on agronomic parameters of cowpea. The treatments were
constituted by the inoculations of three Bradyrhizobium strains: BR3262, BR3267 and BR3299;
a control without inoculation and without fertilization with N and a control with nitrogen fertilization
(20 kg ha-1 of N), without inoculation. Plants were evaluated for height, number of nodules,
nodule dry mass, shoot dry mass and root dry mass. The inoculation with BR 3262 resulted
in an increase in plant height and in the control experiment, higher nodulation occurred. The
strain BR 3262 provided better results for the cowpea.