Phosphorus (P) is a plant macronutrient that is indispensable for maize (Zea mays L.) production. However, P is difficult to manage in weathered soils, and its fertilization practice has low efficiency because it becomes unavailable for absorption by plant roots. Symbiosis of plants with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi increases plant growth and enhances P uptake from the soil that is not directly available to the roots. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine how inoculation with Rhizophagus intraradices and phosphate fertilization interacts and influences the development and productivity of second-crop maize. The experiment was conducted in Selvíria, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, in 2019 and 2020, both in a Typic Haplorthox. A randomized block design in subdivided plots was used for the phosphate application during crop sowing (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% concentrations of the recommended level), and the secondary treatments were the doses of mycorrhizal inoculant (0, 60, 120 and 180 g ha⁻¹) applied to the seed using a dry powder inoculant containing 20,800 infectious propagules per gram of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus R. intraradices. Only in the first year of the experiment, inoculation and phosphate fertilization promoted benefits to the maize crop, indicating potential to increase yield.

The agricultural use of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, such as Rhizoglomus intraradices, can increase the efficiency of phosphate fertilization for the benefit of the corn plant and grain nutrition. In this study, a field experiment was conducted in an area of Selvíria/MS, Brazil, in the years 2019 and 2020, to verify the effects of reduced doses of phosphorus combined with the inoculation of corn seed with R. intraradices on corn plant growth and grain nutrient contents. The experiment was laid in a randomized block design in subdivided plots with four repetitions and twenty treatments resulting from combining five doses of P₂O₅ (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of the recommended dose) with four doses (0, 60, 120, and 180 g ha⁻¹) of an inoculant containing R. intraradices. Leaf and kernel macro- and micronutrient contents were evaluated. The foliar P content in 2020 was a function of the interaction between phosphate fertilization and AMF inoculation, with the highest leaf P content observed at the 100% of P₂O₅ combined with AMF inoculation between 120 and 140 g ha⁻¹. In the grains Mg content, an interaction was observed between the two factors in 2020 and the response surface, showing that the highest Mg content was obtained when maximum doses of P₂O₅ and maximum doses of inoculant were combined. A response surface showed that, in 2020, the highest leaf Zn content occurred when 35–55% P₂O₅ is applied with no inoculation and when P₂O₅ is limited to 20–30%, and there is inoculation with doses between 90 and 150 g ha⁻¹. Phosphate fertilization increased foliar K (2019) and Mg (2020) contents, with maximum points at doses of 76.57% and 88.80%, respectively.

It is widely accepted that mycorrhizal fungi increase phosphate fertilization efficiency. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of reduced phosphorus applications and inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on the nutrition and initial growth of the carioca-type common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L). The study was conducted at the Faculty of Engineering of Ilha Solteira, in the city of Ilha Solteira/SP, Brazil, where there was temperature and humidity monitoring as well as irrigation control. The experimental design was randomized blocks with a 5 × 2 factorial scheme and four replications. The treatments consisted of a combination of five doses of P₂O₅ (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of the recommended dose for beans) applied during sowing, with or without inoculation with AMF - Rhizophagus intraradices - at 200 g ha⁻¹. The root volume, root dry matter, dry mass of the aerial part, and the concentration and accumulation of macro- and micronutrients in the aerial part were evaluated. Inoculation with AMF enhanced the root system, growth of the aerial part, and absorption of most nutrients, resulting in greater nutrient accumulation and increased phosphorus absorption. The combined inoculation and phosphate treatments increased the concentration and accumulation of nutrients in common beans.

In rice, the use of the bacterium Azospirillum brasilense has shown to be very useful for the crop, being able to increase the final productivity of the same or reduce the need for nitrogen in topdressing. It has recently been noted that there are other regulators that perform other functions, such as thidiazuron (TDZ), a cytokinin-like substance that has been shown to significantly increase upland rice productivity. Thus, the present work aimed to verify the effect of the interaction between the foliar application of A. brasilense and thidiazuron doses applied at the occasion of the tillering of the plants on the productive aspects and crop productivity. The experiment was carried out in the agricultural years of 2015/16 and 2016/17, at the UNESP Teaching, Research and Extension Farm belonging to the Engineering Faculty of Ilha Solteira - UNESP, located in the municipality of Selvíria, MS. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with a 2 x 4 factorial scheme with four replicates. The treatments were the combination of the presence or absence of A. brasilense foliar application with doses of TDZ (0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 g ha^-1) applied to upland rice cultivar BRS Esmeralda. Based on the results obtained for plant height, number of panicles per square meter, total number of grains and fertility of spikelets, mass of 100 grains and grain yield, it was concluded that, in the two agricultural years observed, there were no interaction and individual effects of the foliar application of the bacteria, and of the TDZ doses used at the time of tillering in the BRS Esmeralda cultivar.

The symbiosis of common beans with nitrogen-fixing bacteria provides an efficient approach to sustainable and economical food production. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the application of cost-effective nitrogen management strategies in organic common bean cultivation, including the application of poultry manure and organic liquid fertilizer, seed and co-inoculation with diazotrophic bacteria (Azospirillum brasilense and/or Rhizobium tropici), and supplementary Rhizobium tropici inoculation. The study spanned three years in a well-established organic cultivation field (2018) and an initial organic cultivation area (2019 and 2020) in Brazil. It was arranged in a randomized blocks design in a 2 × 5 (2018) and 2 × 6 (2019 and 2020) factorial scheme, with four replicates. The most profitable strategy involves seed inoculation with Azospirillum brasilense and additional inoculation with Rhizobium tropici at stage V_4-5 (fifth trifoliate leaf fully expanded), while the most costly strategy was the application of poultry manure at the V₃ stage (first trifoliate leaf fully expanded). Thus, the use of diazotrophic bacteria for seed inoculation and co-inoculation (Azospirillum brasilense and/or Rhizobium tropici) ensured financial returns and system profitability in common bean cultivation.