Productive and nutritional characteristics of Xaraes grass inoculated with diazotrophic associative bacteria

The aim of this study was to evaluate yield and nutritional characteristics of Xaraes grass inoculated with diazotrophic associative bacteria in the first cultivation in the Cerrado Oxisol. The experiment was conducted in the greenhouse. The experimental design was completely randomized factorial 6x3 consisting of: three strains of diazotrophic associative bacteria (MTAz8, MTH2 and Y2), a combination of strains MTAz8 and MTH2, nitrogen fertilization and absolute control, and three cuts (30, 60 and 90 days) in five replicates. The inoculation was performed by inserting an aliquot of 5ml of the bacterial broth containing 10(8) cells ml(-1) in the soil near the root zone of each plant. The variables evaluated were: dry weight of shoot, crude protein, accumulation and nitrogen concentration in the shoot and determining the number of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil. The fertilized soil dry matter production increased over the cuts. Among the strains Y2 showed higher accumulation of nitrogen and largest population of bacteria in the middle of the LGI culture. The nutritional characteristics of Xaraes grass declined as the cuts were made.