INOCULATION OF PLANT GROWTH-PROMOTING BACTERIA AND THEIR EFFECT ON TOMATO ECOTYPES

The species Solanum lycopersicum L. shows variation in intensity of color, fruit shape and size, and growth habits, thus, it is important to identify outstanding varieties in agronomic characteristics and subject them to a breeding process. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of inoculation with Klebsiella variicola, K. quasipneumoniae and K. pneumoniae in plants of 19 tomato ecotypes. An experiment was established in a randomized complete block design under a generalized factorial arrangement with five replications under biospace conditions. The variables evaluated were days to flowering, fresh fruit weight, root length, fresh root weight, root volume, dry root weight and number of seeds. The analysis of variance showed significant differences in the sources of variation bacterial strains and tomato ecotypes. Results indicated variation in the root system, agronomic characteristics and fruit yield components with the application of plant growth promoting bacteria in native tomato ecotypes. Bacterial strains favor the production of tomato fruits with attributes to be commercialized.