Efficiency of the inoculation of Trichoderma asperellum UFT-201 in cowpea production components under growth conditions in field

Abstract

The rhizosphere contains many microorganisms that can promote plant growth and protect the root system against infection by pathogens. Fungi of Trichoderma sp. are included in this group. The aim of this study was to evaluate efficiency of the inoculation of Trichoderma in agronomic performance of cowpea under field conditions, in the savanna in Gurupi, Tocantins, in harvests 2013/2014 to 2014/2015. The treatments consisted in seed treatment, with and without inoculation with Trichoderma asperellum UFT 201 with minimum concentration of viable conidia of 2x10⁹ L^-1, at a dose of 20 g kg^-1 of seed. Biomass evaluations were made on efficiency, initial and final stands and survival in the use of Trichoderma in the stand maintaining and productivity. The results indicated that the ability of bio-protection and plant growth promotion were of great importance for the biomass production, the stand maintaining and cowpea productivity. In both harvests, survival was superior in the plants treated with Trichoderma, 23.0 and 13.2%, respectively, and yields were 9.5% higher compared to control for the two harvests. In general, the inoculation of Trichoderma provided the best results in the biomass variables analyzed for the two crops with higher productivity.