The objective of this work was to evaluate the impact of the herbicides ametryn and trifloxysulfuron-sodium, singly or combined, and 2,4-D, on the activity of inorganic phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms and the populational density of fungi and bacteria in sugarcane rhizosphere. Sugarcane plants with three to four fully expanded leaves and fungi were sprayed with ametryn, trifloxysulfuron-sodium, and ametryn + trifloxysulfuron-sodium at the doses of 1.30, 1.00, 0.0225 and 1.463 + 0.0375 kg ha-1, respectively. A completely randomized design was adopted in a split plot scheme with four replications. The effect of the herbicides was evaluated in the whole plots and the effect of time after application in the split-plots. At 15, 30, 45, and 60 days after spraying (DAS), rhizospheric and non-rhizospheric soil samples were collected and immediately analyzed for the populational densities of bacteria and fungi and the potential and relative inorganic phosphate solubilization activity in the soil. 2,4-D reduced the bacterial density in the soil for all the evaluation times, densities of bacterial populations in the rhizosphere for all periods of time showing a higher sensitivity of this group to this compound. At 15 DAS, all herbicides tested reduced the number of fungi in the soil. Trifloxysulfuron-sodium and 2,4-D led to higher inorganic phosphate solubilization at 15, 30, and 45 DAS, and 15 and 30 DAS, respectively, without affecting microbial biomass. The highest relative inorganic phosphate solubilization was observed in the soils treated with ametryn + trifloxysulfuron-sodium. This work showed that herbicide application on sugarcane shoots affects the number of microorganisms and phosphate solubilization activity in the rhizosphere.
bacteria; fungi; ametryn; trifloxysulfuron-sodium; 2,4-D
