Under pot experiment conditions, the influence of soybean inoculation with nodule bacteria Bradyrhizobium japonicum B78 and B144 in combination with seed treatment with the biological fungicides Mycosan-N and Phytocid-r on the processes of formation and functioning of the legume—rhizobial symbiosis, plant growth, and grain productivity was studied. An increase in the number of root nodules at the third trifoliolate stage by 8.3—10.6 %, and in their weight by 19—27.8 % under the combined application of B. japonicum B78 with biofungicides compared with treatment with inoculants alone was revealed. At the beginning of bloom and full bloom stages, an increase in the number of root nodules on the plants inoculated with rhizobia of both strains under the influence of Mycosan-N by 5.8—21.3 %, and an increase in their weight by 9.3—27.1 % were observed. Under the combined application of B. japonicum B78 with Phytocid-r, the increase in the studied parameters amounted to 6.3 and 7.9 %, respectively, only at the beginning of bloom stage. An increase in the nitrogen-fixing activity (NFA) of symbiotic systems under soybean seed treatment with B. japonicum B78 and Mycosan-N by 13.0 and 7.8 % at the third trifoliolate stage and budding, respectively, was revealed. In soybean inoculated with B. japonicum B144 and treated with this biofungicide, NFA exceeded that of the control plants by 8.8 % only at the beginning of bloom stage. Under the action of Phytocid-r and inoculation with rhizobia B78, an increase in NFA according to the data of three samplings by 6.2—14.6 % was observed. In plants treated with B. japonicum B144 and Phytocid-r, a decrease in the studied parameter during vegetation by 7.9—18.3 % was revealed. It was established that seed bacterization with rhizobia both in combination with biofungicides and without their application promoted an increase in the weight of the aboveground part of soybean plants and roots during vegetation compared with plants without pre-sowing treatment. An increase in the grain productivity of soybean plants by 7.6 and 11.5 % was revealed under the combined seed treatment with B. japonicum B144 and B78 together with Mycosan-N. Under the combined application of nodule bacteria with Phytocid-r, soybean grain productivity was at the level of the plants of the respective controls (treated with inoculants without biofungicides). Thus, the scientifically substantiated selection of nodule bacteria and biofungicides for application in soybean cultivation technologies makes it possible to ensure the active functioning of a powerful symbiotic apparatus and an increase in grain productivity.
Keywords: Bradyrhizobium japonicum, soybean, inoculation, biological fungicides, number and weight of nodules, nitrogen-fixing activity, grain productivity
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