INOCULAÇÃO DE BACTÉRIAS PROMOTORAS DE CRESCIMENTO DE PLANTAS NA QUALIDADE DE SEMENTES DE PIMENTA BODE E MALAGUETA

Abstract

The use of plant growth-promoting microorganisms has emerged as a sustainable strategy to enhance seed physiological quality and early seedling development. This study evaluated the effect of inoculation with plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) on the seed quality of bode pepper (Capsicum chinense) and malagueta pepper (Capsicum frutescens). The bacterial strains used were Bacillus subtilis ATCC 23858 and Burkholderia seminalis TC3.4.2R3. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design arranged in a 3 × 2 factorial scheme, with three inoculation treatments and two pepper species. Seed germination, radicle length, emergence speed index (ESI), seedling height, and fresh and dry biomass of shoots and roots were evaluated. The results showed that both PGPB significantly increased seed germination and radicle length, considering the effect of inoculation treatments, with no significant differences between pepper species for these variables. A significant interaction between species and inoculation was observed for seedling height and ESI, highlighting the increase in seedling height of bode pepper inoculated with B. subtilis, as well as the increase in ESI in both species inoculated with B. subtilis and B. seminalis. No significant differences were observed for root fresh and dry biomass or shoot fresh biomass; however, shoot dry biomass was higher in bode pepper. It is concluded that inoculation with PGPB is a promising alternative to improve seed quality and early seedling vigor, and that the selection of the most appropriate bacterial strain should consider the pepper species and cultivation conditions. Keywords: Bacillus subtilis; Burkholderia seminalis; bioinoculation; seed germination; peppers.