Abstract

CORTES-PATINO, Sandra L et al. Substrates inoculated with microorganisms for cocoa plants development (Theobroma cacao L.) during nursery stage. Bioagro [online]. 2015, vol.27, n.3, pp.151-158. ISSN 1316-3361.

Renewal of cocoa crops must be done with strong seedlings to guarantee field transplant survival, which is highly associated with root development in the first months of plant growth.  We aimed to evaluate the effect of substrates inoculated with microorganisms in the production of cocoa plants during nursery stage.  Seeds of clon IMC-67 were planted in bags. A completely randomized design was used, consisting in five treatments with sixty replicates each, one bag per plot. Treatments were:  (T1) absolute control, 1:1 sand:soil; (T2) bioabono, 2:1:1 soil:bioabono:sand; (T3) Commercial mixed inoculant, 2:1:1 soil:vermicompost:sand; (T4) Cocoa rhizobacteria, 2:1:1 soil:vermicompost:sand; and (T5) chemical control, 2:1:1 soil:vermicompost:sand + chemical fertilization. Plant height,  root  length,  number  of  leaves,  stem  diameter,  shoot and root fresh and dry weight, as well as the microbial populations in SRS agar were measured.  The analysis showed significant differences (P≤0.05) between treatments inoculated with microorganisms (T3 and T4) and those that were not inoculated (T1 and T5) in most of the variables. Therefore, the inoculation of these microorganisms is recommended to improve cocoa plant development in nursery stage, and in turn, ensuring the survival after field transplant. Substrate inoculation also promoted the increase of rhizobacteria populations.

Keywords : Growth promoting microorganisms; mycorrhizal fungi; plant nurseries; rhizobacteria; vermicompost.

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