Yield and Agronomic Performance of Sweet Corn in Response to Inoculation with Azospirillum sp. under Arid Land Conditions

Abstract

Nitrogen is the most common limiting factor for crop productivity, and most maize cultivars require fertilizing. Here, we report on the possibility of partially replacing the nitrogenous fertilizer in sweet corn inoculated with a native strain of Azospirillum sp. in arid land on the coast of Peru. We performed an agronomic experiment in a crop field with arid soil under drip irrigation in Huacho (Peru) using a commercial variety of sweet corn. The treatments were two levels of nitrogen (90 and 180 kg N ha−1), one or two applications of a native strain of Azospirillum sp. (1 × 108 CFU/mL) and a control treatment with only nitrogen fertilizer. Eleven agronomic variables related to productive aspects were evaluated by performing statistical analyses and the comparison of treatment means. Inoculation with Azospirillum sp. did not significantly (p > 0.05) affect the total weight of ears, the number of ears per plant and the number of male flowers, but it significantly (p < 0.05) influenced the grain yield per hectare, the survival of plants, grain weight per plant, and the diameter and length of the cob. In some productive characteristics of sweet corn cv “Pardo”, a significant effect was found following inoculation with Azospirillum sp., which outperformed the control with only nitrogen fertilization in grain yield, suggesting that it is possible to complement the application of nitrogen to soil with the inoculation of this strain, replacing up to 50% of the levels of fertilizer application, since the benefit/cost ratio increases.