An experiment was carried out under controlled conditions at the Embrapa Dairy Cattle, Juiz de Fora, MG, aiming to study the efficiency of two commercial inoculants of Rhizobium meliloti on the development of alfalfa cultivars in a ";cerrado"; soil classified as Dark-Red Latossol (Oxisol). The experimental design was a randomized blocks, in a 3 x 4 factorial, with four replications and the following treatments: a) three alfalfa cultivars: Crioula, Crioula CNPGL and P30; b) two commercial inoculants and two checks (with and without nitrogen). Sixty days after sowing, a harvest was performed at 5 cm height from ground level, to determine dry matter (DM) weight and total-N in the above ground parts. At ninety days, the whole plants were sampled, to measure the DM yield of both above ground parts and roots, and N content of above ground parts. The presence of nodules in the roots was examined. Results of DM yield of above ground parts and roots, and of total-N in the above ground parts, indicated that the two commercial inoculants used were efficient for all the three alfalfa cultivars in the soil, which had its pH corrected. Regarding nodulation, the checks with and without nitrogen did not nodulate, indicating that Rhizobium meliloti was not present in the soil. These observations reinforce the need of inoculation of alfalfa with appropriate rhizobia in tropical regions.
forage legumes; Medicago sativa; nitrogen; nodulation; Rhizobium meliloti
