ABSTRACT
In Brazil, the peanut culture has been expanding mainly in the state of São Paulo, responsible for 80% of the national production. It is an edible culture produces oil of excellent quality, contains proteins rich in amino acids that make up to 36% of weight of the grain. Furthermore, it is associated with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. However, the practice of inoculation is not very common in peanuts, being this species considered susceptible to nodularity with a large number of rhizobia. However, known’s that inoculation with selected strains can increase the efficiency of symbiosis and peanut yield. Thus, the present study was proposed to evaluate the development of peanut inoculated with rhizobia and grown in Cerrado’s Oxisol. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse, in a completely randomized design, five treatments, one cultivar (IAC 505) and four replicates. The treatments were composed of three strains of rhizobia and two controls, one absolute and the other with nitrogen fertilizer (50 mg⋅N⋅dm3). Each experimental plot has been consisted an 8 dm3 pot with three plants. The inoculation was done, applying 3 mL of bacterial broth (108 mL−1 cells) in the root system of each plant. The SPAD index, number and dry weight of nodules, dry mass of shoots and roots, number and weight of grains were analyzed. The response of Peanuts inoculated was significantly, as all inoculated plants showed similar development to nitrogen-fertilized, emphasizing the potential for supplying nitrogen in peanut development.