Abstract The aim of this study was to estimate genetic and phenotypic parameters associated with progenies from the recurrent selection program for grain yield in soybean. The evaluation of S0:1 progenies was in Lavras in the 2015/2016 crop year. The S0:2 progenies were evaluated in Lavras, Nazareno, and Itutinga. The S0:3 progenies were evaluated in Lavras, Ijaci, and Itutinga in the following crop years. The following traits were evaluated: days to flowering, days to full maturity, bottom pod height, plant height, lodging, and grain yield. The expected gain and gain achieved from selection, genetic correlation, and correlated response were estimated. The variance components show variability among the progenies. It was possible to obtain gains from selection for grain yield for all selection intensities (1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30%). The variability and the high performance of the progenies indicate that implementation of the recurrent selection program can be successful.

Abstract Although cultivars of autogamous plants are homogeneous genotypes, they may show natural variability due to mechanical mixing, natural hybridization, and mutation. The aim of the present study was to estimate genetic and phenotypic parameters and to identify and select superior genotypes that associate good performance in traits of interest from a heterogeneous population derived from the cultivar BRS Favorita RR. The evaluation experiments were carried out in two crop years and five cities of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, in a lattice design, using progenies and the control ‘BRS Favorita RR’. Plant height, first pod height, days to full maturity, lodging score, and grain yield were evaluated. For estimation of the variance components, analysis of deviance was performed by the restricted maximum likelihood (REML) method. The results show that there is difference among treatments and that it is possible to select progenies that outperform the control for all traits evaluated.

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) is an important grain-producing legume that can forego nitrogen fertilization by establishing an efficient symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Although inoculating strains have already been selected for this species, little is known about the genotypic and symbiotic diversity of native rhizobia. Recently, Bradyrhizobium has been shown to be the genus most frequently trapped by cowpea in agricultural soils of the Amazon region. We investigated the genetic and symbiotic diversity of 148 bacterial strains with different phenotypic and cultural properties isolated from the nodules of the trap species cowpea, which was inoculated with samples from soils under agroforestry systems from the western Amazon. Sixty non-nodulating strains indicated a high frequency of endophytic strains in the nodules. The 88 authenticated strains had varying symbiotic efficiency. The SPAD (Soil Plant Analysis Development) index (indirect measurement of chlorophyll content) was more efficient at evaluating the contribution of symbiotic N2-fixation than shoot dry matter under axenic conditions. Cowpea-nodulating bacteria exhibited a high level of genetic diversity, with 68 genotypes identified by BOX-PCR. Sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene showed a predominance of the genus Bradyrhizobium, which accounted for 70 % of all strains sequenced. Other genera identified were Rhizobium, Ochrobactrum, Paenibacillus, Bosea, Bacillus, Enterobacter, and Stenotrophomonas. These results support the promiscuity of cowpea and demonstrate the high genetic and symbiotic diversity of rhizobia in soils under agroforestry systems, with some strains exhibiting potential for use as inoculants. The predominance of Bradyrhizobium in land uses with different plant communities and soil characteristics reflects the adaptation of this genus to the Amazon region.

Biological nitrogen fixation, performed by diazotrophic bacteria, plays an important role in the maintenance of agricultural systems, as it contributes with significant amounts of the nitrogen (N) needed for plant growth, totally or partially exempting the use of industrial N fertilisers. Twenty-five bacterial strains isolated from nodules of Leucaena leucocephala and Phaseolus vulgaris trap plants were studied. These nodules were formed after inoculation with suspensions of soil samples collected close to the root system of Sesbania virgata. In previous studies, these bacteria were identified as Cupriavidus necator. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of these strains to fix N2 in the free-living state and to use carbon (C) sources; their resistance to antibiotics; growth in media with different pH values and salt concentrations and symbiotic efficiency with L. leucocephala and P. vulgaris. In each test, these strains were compared to C. taiwanensis LMG 19424T. Although a high variability regarding antibiotic resistance, salt tolerance and use of C sources were observed among the 25 C. necator strains, a large group behaved similar regarding salt tolerance (20 strains) and antibiotic resistance (22 strains). C. necator strains behaved in a different way of LMG 19424T. Only one of the 25 strains studied, UFLA02-69, was not able to establish symbiosis with its trap species, P. vulgaris. Only the strains LMG19424T and UFLA01-672 were efficient in symbiosis with L. leucocephala. The ability to use C sources, grow in different pHs and salt concentrations and resistance to several antibiotics, may grant high saprophytic competence and greater competitivity to these strains in relation to the native Leguminosae-nodulating bacterial populations, suggesting potential use in inoculant strain selection studies for legumes cultivated in soils with a wide range of pH and salt concentrations.

Dez estirpes de rizóbios, sendo oito isoladas de amostras de solos coletadas próximo ao sistema radicular de Sesbania virgata, no Sul de Minas Gerais, e duas recomendadas como inoculante para o caupi (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) usadas como referências, foram avaliadas quanto a: diversidade genética, eficiência simbiótica em caupi, tolerância a altas temperaturas e concentrações salinas, valores extremos de pH e 15 tipos de antibióticos. A análise de diversidade genética utilizando a técnica do Rep-PCR, com o primer BOX, revelou alta diversidade, pois cada estirpe apresentou perfil único de DNA. O teste de eficiência simbiótica conduzido em vasos de Leonard indicou que as estirpes UFLA 03-30 e UFLA 03-38 demonstraram alto potencial em fixar N2 em simbiose com o caupi, proporcionando resultados de matéria seca da parte aérea e dos nódulos, eficiência relativa e acúmulo de N na parte aérea superiores aos das estirpes recomendadas como inoculantes. Todas as estirpes cresceram em meios com valores de pH variando de 4,0 a 9,0. Em relação à tolerância aos antibióticos, foi observado que as estirpes eficientes em fixar N2 em simbiose com o caupi foram as que apresentaram tolerância a um maior número desses compostos. No entanto, estas estirpes mostraram comportamentos semelhantes em relação a tolerância a salinidade, constituindo o grupo de maior sensibilidade. Com exceção das estirpes UFLA 03-84 e UFLA 03-37, as demais toleraram até 40 ºC. Embora as estirpes estudadas tenham sido isoladas de solos da mesma região, com exceção das recomendadas para inoculante oriundas da Amazônia, foi observado que elas apresentaram comportamentos distintos quando submetidas aos diferentes testes de diversidade genética, fenotípica e simbiótica, justificando a importância de incluir estes testes no processo de seleção de estirpes simbióticas em caupi.

The genetic diversity of ten Bradyrhizobium strains was evaluated for tolerance to high temperatures, to different salinity levels and for the efficiency of symbiosis with cowpea plants (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.). Eight of these strains were isolated from nodules that appeared on cowpea after inoculation with suspensions of soil sampled from around the root system of Sesbania virgata (wand riverhemp) in ecosystems of South Minas Gerais. The other two strains used in our analyses as references, were from the Amazon and are currently recommended as cowpea inoculants. Genetic diversity was analyzed by amplifying repetitive DNA elements with the BOX primer, revealing high genetic diversity with each strain presenting a unique band profile. Leonard jar assays showed that the strains UFLA 03-30 and UFLA 03-38 had the highest N2-fixing potentials in symbiosis with cowpea. These strains had more shoot and nodule dry matter, more shoot N accumulation, and a higher relative efficiency than the strains recommended as inoculants. All strains grew in media of pH levels ranging from 4.0 to 9.0. The strains with the highest N2-fixing efficiencies in symbiosis with cowpea were also tolerant to the greatest number of antibiotics. However, these strains also had the lowest tolerance to high salt concentrations. All strains, with the exceptions of UFLA 03-84 and UFLA 03-37, tolerated temperatures of up to 40 ºC. The genetic and phenotypic characteristics of the eight strains isolated from soils of the same region were highly variable, as well as their symbiotic efficiencies, despite their common origin. This variability highlights the importance of including these tests in the selection of cowpea inoculant strains.