Inoculation of Maize Seeds With Azospirillum and Magnesium Through Foliar Application to Enhance Productive Performance

The present study aimed to evaluate the productive performance of maize crop when seed inoculated with A. brasilense, associated with different foliar doses of magnesium in the crop vegetative stages. For this, two essays were conducted in field conditions, one located in Laranjeiras do Sul-PR and the other in Entre Rios do Oeste-PR. A randomized blocks scheme was used, with a 3 × 2 factorial, being the treatments with magnesium (Mg): magnesium sulphate; magnesium oxide and without magnesium, and the presence or absence of seed inoculation with A. brasilense. The magnesium sources were supplied via foliar at the V4 stage of the crop, using doses of 6 kg ha-1. Evaluations were carried at R1 determining the SPAD index and stem diameter and, at the end of the productive cycle, were evaluated production components and yield. In both sites no significant effects of foliar application with Mg were observed over the evaluated parameters. The A. brasilense inoculation provided an increase of 9.66% and 6.32% in stem diameter and of 6.8% and 6.24% in the SPAD index in Laranjeiras do Sul and Entre Rios do Oeste respectively, however, they did not increase production components and yield. It is concluded that the inoculation with A. brasilense increases of stem diameter values and SPAD index, in turn the foliar fertilization with different sources of magnesium do not interfere in the development and productivity of corn crop.