Co-Inoculation of Bradyrhizobium and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus Alleviates the Effects of Drought Stress in Soybean (Glycine max L.)

Abstract

Legumes are sensitive to drought stress, which adversely affects their seed yield, protein and oil content. This was investigated in a two-year field experiment conducted using a split-plot design with three replications in the Mughan plain, Ardabil. The experimental factors included drought stress as the main plot at three levels (60, 100, and 140 mm of evaporation from a class A pan) and the co-inoculation of soybean symbiotic bacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus species across eight treatments (Bradyrhizobium japonicum, Funneliformis mosseae, Rhizophagus irregularis, Glomus fasciculatum, B. japonicum + F. mosseae, B. japonicum + R. irregularis, B. japonicum + G. fasciculatum, and control) as the subplot. The results revealed that heightened drought stress led to a reduction in plant dry weight, pod number, seed number per plant, and seed yield in all treatments in both study years. However, this reduction was less pronounced in some treatments, especially those involving co-inoculation with B. japonicum + R. irregularis and B. japonicum + G. fasciculatum. Conversely, all treatments exhibited an increase in stomatal resistance, chlorophyll a concentration, soluble sugars, malondialdehyde (MDA), peroxidase (POD), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) under drought conditions (100 and 140 mm) compared to the normal irrigation conditions (I60). The saturated fatty acids (palmitic and stearic acids) declined in inoculated plants compared to the control, while the trend was the opposite for unsaturated fatty acids (linoleic, linoneic, and oleic acids). Drought stress increased palmitic acid content by up to 32.4% and reduced linolenic acid content by up to 13.4%. Among the treatments, co-inoculation with B. japonicum + R. irregularis and B. japonicum + G. fasciculatum demonstrated a more significant improvement in the soybean’s drought tolerance compared to the others. Given these results, inoculating soybean plants with rhizobial bacteria and R. irregularis mycorrhizae can be recommended as a strategy to enhance their drought resistance and improve their seed yield and oil quality.

Keywords

• Antioxidant enzymes
• Drought stress
• Mycorrhiza
• Oil quality
• Soybean.

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