Effect of Bacterial Inoculants on Agronomic Performance of Three Genotypes of Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) in Coastal Areas of Peru

Abstract

To study the effect of interaction of plant genotypes and populations of microorganisms in the rhizosphere may be an important factor to assess the effectiveness of PGPRs on crop production. The objective of this research was to determine the effect of inoculation of four bacterial strains on the agronomic performance of three commercial cultivars of potato in the province of Cañete, Peru. A randomized complete blocks design with three replications on a split plot arrangement was used, in which potato genotypes (three commercial varieties) were assigned to complete plots and inoculation treatments (bacterial strains and control) were allocated to sub-plots, then evaluating the effect for growth promotion related to bacterial strains: Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, B. simplex, Azotobacter sp. and Pantoea sp. on potato agronomic characteristics. As result of inoculation with bacterial strains in potato cultivars Canchán, Perricholi and Unica, significant differences were showed (p<0.05) for vegetative vigor, percentage of inflorescences per plant, foliage weight per plant and weight of the total biomass per hectare with use of inoculation of some of these strains, having a stimulatory effect on development in these commercial varieties, highlighting strain  AZO16 M2 (Azotobacter sp.) to promote increased weight of foliage and total biomass and flowering in cv. Perricholi and strain Bac15MB (Bacillus amyloliquefaciens) to regulate the degree of senescence of foliage, specifically in cv. Canchan. Concluding that inoculation with bacterial strains in potato cultivars Canchan, Perricholi and Unica influenced some important crop agronomic characters, although its specific effect was dependent on each potato variety.