Resumen de Agronomic potential of biofertilizers on growth, yields and nutritional quality of a vetch-oat-triticale intercropping system
Sana Dhane Fitouri, Khaoula Boudabbous, Ali Ben Romdhane, Soumaya Tounsi Hammami, Wajdi Dhib, Faycel Ben Jeddi, Chahine Karmous, Salah Ben Youssef
The existing issues of climate change and population growth have driven to a rising awareness of the need to innovate in sustainable agricultural practices, such as intercropping, Enhancing the efficiency of intercropping systems by applying beneficial microorganisms (rhizobacteria, mycorrhizae or both) is a valuable approach. Two experiments were conducted to assess the effect of inoculation with beneficial microorganisms: rhizobacteria (B), mycorrhizae (M), and a rhizobacteria-mycorrhizae consortium (B+M) compared to a control of uninoculated plants (C) on a vetch-oat-triticale intercropping system. Growth, physiological traits, forage yield and qualities were determined at two harvesting periods (74 and 142 days after seeding, das). Overall, the different studied intercrops varied in terms of inoculation effects. Mycorrhizal inoculation had a significant positive effect on SPAD, total nitrogen and leaf to stem ratio for vetch, oat and triticale, respectively. Bacteria inoculation promoted leaf area and plant height for vetch and oat crops, but only plant height for triticale. The dual bacteria and mycorrhizae inoculum significantly improved the yield dry matter (YDM) by 41.2 % ensuring an increase of 2.1 and 1.67 Mg ha-1 at 74 and 142 das respectively, compared to the control. Further data analysis revealed an improvement of calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) status after mycorrhizae inoculation. This study highlighted the potential applications of the dual biofertilizers on vetchoat-triticale intercropping as a way to increase forage yield and qualities in semi-arid regions.
