This work aimed to evaluate the growth of Rhizobium tropici BR322 and BR 520 strains, used as inoculant on common bean in Brazil, in yeast extract manitol (YM) medium supplemented with different herbicides (bentazon, metolachlor, imazamox, fluazifop-p-butyl, fomesafen and paraquat). Fluazifop-p-butyl and fomesafen were evaluated pure and in a commercial mixture with concentration varying from 0.0 to 49.23 mg L-1. Cell growth was assessed by optic density readings in a spectrophotometer at 560 nm, being later converted to colony forming units per mL. Paraquat caused higher inhibition of cell growth, followed by the commercial mixture fomesafen and fluazifop-p-butyl. For the other herbicides, growth reduction was not significant. In general, BR 520 strain was more tolerant to the tested herbicides, except to paraquat. The herbicide concentration I50, (which decreased Rhizobium growth in 50%) could not be determined in the fomesafen concentrations tested, isolated or mixed to fluazifop-p-butyl. The highest reduction of 31.1% was observed in BR322 at the maximum tested concentration of the commercial mixture.
bentazon; fluazifop-p-butyl; fomesafen; imazamox; S-metolachlor; paraquat
