Growth, Photosynthesis and Yield Responses of Common Wheat to Foliar Application of Methylobacterium symbioticum under Decreasing Chemical Nitrogen Fertilization

Francesco Valente (), Anna Panozzo, Francesco Bozzolin, Giuseppe Barion, Pranay Kumar Bolla, Vittorio Bertin, Silvia Potestio, Giovanna Visioli, Yu Wang and Teofilo Vamerali
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Francesco Valente: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and the Environment, University of Padua, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Anna Panozzo: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and the Environment, University of Padua, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Francesco Bozzolin: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and the Environment, University of Padua, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Giuseppe Barion: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and the Environment, University of Padua, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Pranay Kumar Bolla: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and the Environment, University of Padua, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Vittorio Bertin: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and the Environment, University of Padua, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Silvia Potestio: Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, 43124 Parma, Italy
Giovanna Visioli: Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, 43124 Parma, Italy
Yu Wang: Key Laboratory for Water Quality and Conservation of the Pearl River Delta, Institute of Environmental Research at Greater Bay Area, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Teofilo Vamerali: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and the Environment, University of Padua, 35020 Legnaro, Italy

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-19

Abstract: Current agriculture intensifies crop cultivation to meet food demand, leading to unsustainable use of chemical fertilizers. This study investigates a few physiological and agronomic responses of common wheat following the inoculation with plant growth-promoting bacteria to reduce nitrogen inputs. A field trial was conducted in 2022–2023, in Legnago (Verona, Italy) on Triticum aestivum var. LG-Auriga comparing full (180 kg ha −1 ) and reduced (130 kg ha −1 ) N doses, both with and without foliar application at end tillering of the N-fixing bacterium Methylobacterium symbioticum . Biofertilization did not improve shoot growth, while it seldom increased the root length density in the arable layer. It delayed leaf senescence, prolonged photosynthetic activity, and amplified stomatal conductance and PSII efficiency under the reduced N dose. Appreciable ACC-deaminase activity of such bacterium disclosed augmented nitrogen retrieval and reduced ethylene production, explaining the ameliorated stay-green. Yield and test weight were unaffected by biofertilization, while both glutenin-to-gliadin and HMW-to-LMW ratios increased together with dough tenacity. It is concluded that Methylobacterium symbioticum can amplify nitrogen metabolism at a reduced nitrogen dose, offering a viable approach to reduce chemical fertilization under suboptimal growing conditions for achieving a more sustainable agriculture. Further research over multiple growing seasons and soil types is necessary to corroborate these preliminary observations.

Keywords: biofertilizer; biostimulant; plant growth promoting bacteria; leaf senescence; stomatal conductance; sustainable agriculture; nitrogen-fixing bacteria (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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