Plant biofertilization involves introducing compounds containing living mi-croorganisms into the coating medium to sustainably enhance plant production and soil health. This is a complex process that undergoes multiple stages of development before yielding a final product. The final biofertilizer is used by legumes-protein-rich crops in symbiosis with rhizobia to enable biological nitrogen fixation increasing natural soil fertility. This study aims to determine the optimal formulation of a rhizobial biofertilizer to improve the performance of soybean (Glycine max L. cv. Docko). To this end, soybean seeds obtained from IRAD were coated with different formulations derived from locally sourced materials. Palm kernel oil was used as an adhesive in one group, while corn powder served as an adhesive in another. The coated seeds were then sown in the field. The results indicate that the combination of pigeon pea powder + sugarcane molasses, with palm kernel oil as an adhesive, produced the best nodulation (nitrogen fixation). This formulation also led to significant improvements in growth (+350%) and total nitrogen content (+1100%) compared to the bacterial broth inoculum control (B0) (P ≤ 0.01). These findings represent a significant advancement in improving nitrogen-fixing bacterial inoculants and enhancing soil fertility for the sustainable cultivation of soybeans in this tropical soil.
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