Impact of N-fixing bacterium Nitrospirillum amazonense on quality and quantitative parameters of sugarcane under field condition

Abstract

Sugarcane is the world’s largest crop by production quantity. In Brazil, the sugarcane cultivation requires 30-70% less nitrogen than in other countries, due to the biological nitrogen fixation. Nitrospirillum amazonense is an N-fixing bacterium that has proven to increase plant growth and yields of sugarcane in greenhouse experiments. However, studies on field conditions are very scarce. For these reasons, this study aimed to assess the impact of different doses of a pre-commercial product, Aprinza®, containing N. amazonense on quality and quantitative parameters of the cultivar RB867515 in field conditions. The plant height, number of internodes, stem yield and sugar yield were measured. The leaf nutrient content was analyzed 60, 90 and 180 days after planting and the plant nutrient content was analyzed after harvest. The inoculation of N. amazonense did not affect the leaf and the stem nutrient content positively. The stem yield was increased 27.5 tons ha-1 (20%) and the total recoverable sugar yield increased 4.6 tons ha-1 (25%), compared to the control, by using 1 liter of Aprinza® per hectare. Therefore, N. amazonense can increase sugarcane stem and sugar yields in sandy soils with low nitrogen application, reducing the environmental impacts of the sugarcane cultivation system.