Effect of corn inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and associated with canavalia on forage production

With the objective of determining the response of the production and quality of maize forage inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and their association with canavalia, an experiment was carried out at Centro Universitario Municipal of Cumanayagua, in a randomized block design with five treatments and four replications: maize + Funneliformis mosseae, maize + F. mosseae + Canavalia ensiformis, maize + C. ensiformis, maize + NPK and maize on grayish brown soil. Polyethylene bags with a capacity of 2 kg of soil were used. At planting, the maize was inoculated with F. mosseae by the seed coating method. Fifteen days after emergence, the canavalia was planted. At 60 days, stem diameter was measured and at 75 days, biomass production and crude protein percentage of maize, canavalia and their association were determined. The highest growth and production of maize was found in the presence of mineral fertilization. Biomass production and gross protein of forage responded positively to mycorrhizal inoculation of maize and the association with canavalia, with the greatest benefits in the application of both practices. In the association forage, biomass and gross protein production increased by 24.6 and 15.03 %, and 29.8 and 23.4 %, respectively, relative to maize forage alone. It was higher when maize was inoculated with mycorrhiza. The inferior performance of coapplication with respect to mineral fertilization suggests the need to supplement it with low doses of fertilizers to optimize its benefits.