Seeds inoculation and nitrogen fertilization for cowpea production on latosol in the western amazon

Abstract

The cowpea is an important food crop in the North and Northeast regions of Brazil, where the beans are consumed either green or ripe. Yet, considering its socio-economic importance and its tropical origin, cowpea yields are low in those regions, due to inadequate cultivation practices and incorrect soil management. Therefore, the objective of this study was to study the development of cowpea crop inoculated and fertilized with two different nitrogen (N) sources. The experiment was conducted in the municipality of Rorainópolis (RR). The experimental design was randomized blocks with four treatments and five replications. The plant material was 'BRS Guariba' cowpea cultivar, and the treatments were: (i) control (no nitrogen fertilization), (ii) seeds inoculated with Bradyrhizobium elkanii, (iii) urea as N source (60 kg N ha^-1), and (iv) ammonium sulphate as N source (60 kg N ha^-1). The following crop traits were evaluated: foliar macronutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S), green and dry weight of shoots, dry beans per plant, pod yield and bean yield. Urea and ammonium sulphate promoted high accumulation of nutrients in leaves. Ammonium sulphate also stood out regarding productivity traits, thus proving to be a viable N source for cowpea in the Amazon region. The nodulation with Bradyrhizobium elkanii wasn't efficient to replace the fertilization with nitrogen fertilizers for cowpea BRS Guariba.