EFFECT OF INOCULATION WITH Azospirillum sp., AND NITROGENOUS FERTILIZATION ON THE GROWTH AND PRODUCTION OF TOMATO (Solanum lycopersicum MILL.)

Abstract

The inoculation of agricultural crops with plant growth-promoting bacteria, such as Azospirillum, has been a complementary practice to chemical fertilization to avoid its excessive use. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of Azospirillum sp., and chemical nitrogen fertilization (CNF) on the growth and production of tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum), in an intensive management system under greenhouse conditions in San Santiago Tepalcatlalpan, Xochimilco, CDMX. The effect of the three Azospirillum strains and two doses of CNF (170 kg ha^-1 and 255 kg ha^-1) was evaluated on the variables of growth, production and fruit quality. During the seedbed phase, the strains AMs3 of Azospirillum sp. and AZm5 of Azospirillum lipoferum favored the growth and physiology of the seedling and significantly
increased the net allocation rate and relative growth rate. In production, the inoculation and two doses of nitrogen did not show significant differences between the growth variables in the plants, but they favored fruit production. The fruits harvested from plants inoculated with the strain AZm5 fertilized with 255 kg of N ha^-1, recorded a high content of potassium, suggesting that inoculation with Azospirillum contributes to the growth and production of the crop under intensive conditions, which could reduce soil contamination from agrichemicals.