Pulses provide distinct health benefits due to their low fat content and high protein and fiber contents. Their grain production reaches approximately 93,210 × 10³ tons per year. Pulses benefit from the symbiosis with atmospheric N₂-fixing bacteria, which increases productivity and reduces the need for N fertilizers, thus contributing to mitigation of environmental impact mitigation. Additionally, the root region harbors a rich microbial community with multiple traits related to plant growth promotion, such as nutrient increase and tolerance enhancement to abiotic or biotic stresses. We reviewed the eight most common pulses accounting for almost 90% of world production: common beans, chickpeas, peas, cowpeas, mung beans, lentils, broad beans, and pigeon peas. We focused on updated information considering both single-rhizobial inoculation and co-inoculation with plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria. We found approximately 80 microbial taxa with PGPR traits, mainly Bacillus sp., B. subtilis, Pseudomonas sp., P. fluorescens, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and that contributed to improve plant growth and yield under different conditions. In addition, new data on root, nodule, rhizosphere, and seed microbiomes point to strategies that can be used to design new generations of biofertilizers, highlighting the importance of microorganisms for productive pulse systems.

The objective of this work was to evaluate the contribution of efficient nitrogen-fixing rhizobial strains to grain yield of new cowpea cultivars, indicated for cultivation in the Brazilian Semiarid region, in the sub-medium of the São Francisco River Valley. Two experiments were set up at the irrigated perimeters of Mandacaru (Juazeiro, state of Bahia) and Bebedouro (Petrolina, state of Pernambuco). The treatments consisted of single inoculation of five rhizobial strains - BR 3267, BR 3262, INPA 03-11B, UFLA 03-84 (Bradyrhizobium sp.), and BR 3299^T (Microvirga vignae) -, besides a treatment with nitrogen and a control without inoculation or N application. The following cowpea cultivars were evaluated: BRS Pujante, BRS Tapaihum, BRS Carijó, and BRS Acauã. A randomized complete block design, with four replicates, was used. Inoculated plants showed similar grain yield to the one observed with plants fertilized with 80 kg ha^-1 N. The cultivars BRS Tapaihum and BRS Pujante stood out in grain yield and protein contents when inoculated, showing their potential for cultivation in the sub-medium of the São Francisco River Valley.

Inoculating legumes with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, such as Bradyrhizobium, can significantly reduce reliance on synthetic nitrogen fertilizers. To optimize this process, a suitable rhizobial strain must be carefully selected and formulated. This study aimed to develop a biopolymer blend formulation for Bradyrhizobium pachyrhizi strain BR 3262. From four commercial starches and two carboxymethylcelluloses (CMC), we developed CMC/starch blends compatibilized or not with MgO at concentrations from 0.1% to 1.0% and subjected them to autoclaving for either 30 or 60 min. The resulting inoculants were stored for 168 days. Generally, blends compatibilized with 1.0% MgO exhibited a significant decrease in cell numbers, likely due to the observed pH values of approximately 10. The best performance was observed for CMC-I/starch B blends autoclaved for 60 min, and CMC-II/starch C blends autoclaved for 30 min, both compatibilized with 0.3% MgO. These blends maintained a cell viability of 10⁸ CFU mL⁻¹ for approximately 130 days at room temperature. Blend optimization depends on the selection of specific interactions and quantities of each component in order to achieve a given functionality; in the conditions of this study, the capacity to maintain Bradyrhizobium cell viability for at least four months.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a compatibilidade do tratamento de sementes com fungicidas e a inoculação com estirpes de Bradyrhizobium em feijão-caupi. Em laboratório, avaliou-se a sobrevivência de células nas sementes da cultivar BRS Guariba, tratadas ou não com fungicidas (fludioxonil, carbendazim, carbendazim + thiram e carboxin + thiram) e inoculadas ou não com Bradyrhizobium (estirpes UFLA3-84, BR 3267, INPA3-11B e BR 3262). Em casa de vegetação, conduziu-se experimento em vasos de Leonard, com os mesmos tratamentos. Foram avaliados: massa de matéria seca da parte aérea, além de número e massa de nódulos 25 dias após a emergência das plantas. No campo, dois experimentos foram conduzidos, tendo-se utilizado a estirpe BR 3262, com aplicação de fungicidas nas sementes: um em área de primeiro cultivo e outro em área cultivada anteriormente com culturas anuais. Avaliaram-se, aos 35 dias, o número de nódulos, a massa de nódulos secos e a massa de matéria seca da parte aérea, e, na colheita, a produtividade de grãos. Os fungicidas não tiveram efeito significativo sobre a sobrevivência de Bradyrhizobium, a nodulação das plantas e o rendimento de grãos, que, em média, foi superior a 1.200 kg ha-1. O tratamento de sementes de feijão-caupi com fungicidas é compatível com a inoculação das estirpes avaliadas.