| Summary: | The adoption of sustainable technologies that are able to increase profitability in the cassava production systems of the Colombian Caribbean is very limited. The assessment of alternative fertilization practices is required for the development of integrated approaches for crop management. The objective of this research was to estimate how the biomass accumulation response of cassava plants to NPK fertilization is affected by the inoculation of three biofertilizers under greenhouse conditions in two soil types (sandy and clayey loam soils). The selected biofertilizers are commercial products available in the Colombian market: Azobac® (Azotobacter chrococcum), Fosforiz® (Pseudomonas fluorescens) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Safer Micorrizas®). NPK was applied at varying levels of the recommended nutrients requirements (100, 75, 50, 25 and 0%) in inoculated and non-inoculated (control) treatments in a 2×3×5 factorial design. The highest biomass accumulation was obtained at the lower fertilization levels (25%) in the treatment inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. The cassava plants inoculated with Azobac® and Fosforiz® did not exhibit increased biomass accumulation. Our results suggest that commercial biofertilizers based on mycorrhizal fungi can be used for maximizing cassava responses to NPK fertilization.
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