Abstract

This study aims at evaluating the agronomic efficiency of the Bacillus subtilis UFMT-Pant001 strain as a plant growth promoter in soybean at three greenhouses from distinct Brazilian regions. The treatments were formulated based on this strain at a concentration of 1x109 UFC.mL-1 in volumes of 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350 or 400 mL for each 50 kg of seeds. Bradyrhizobium japonicum was added in all experiments, and the absolute control contained only this bacterium. The positive control employs a commercial product based on Bacillus subtilis. Both inoculums were adjusted at the recommended dose of 100 mL/50 kg of seeds. In the experiments, the soybean cultivars 7110 RR, Desafio RR, TMG-132 and CG 7665 RR were used. A positive influence on the increment in plant height, biomass, number of internodes, nodules, grains, pods, roots, nutrients and shoot dry mass per plant inoculated with UFMT-Pant001 strain was observed. Although the results are promising to the B. subtilis UFMT-Pant001 strain as a potential plant growth promoter for soybean, more tests, including with other cultivars, are needed, especially in the field.

Key words: Bacillus subtilis, bacterial-based inoculant, soybean, plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria.