Sourcing Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viciae strains from Mediterranean centres of origin to optimize nitrogen fixation in forage legumes grown on acid soils

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-25-2021

Journal Title

Grass and Forage Science

ISSN

0142-5242 eISSN: 1365-2494

Keywords

acid tolerance, agricultural legumes, N fixation, nodulation, Pisum sativum, saprophytic competence

Disciplines

Agronomy and Crop Sciences

Abstract

Over the last three decades, farming systems in Europe and Australia have seen a decline in legume plantings, leading to reduced soil carbon and fertility, and an increase in plant disease, reliance on industrial nitrogen fertilizer and herbicides. In Australia, one reason for this decline has been the movement towards sowing crops and forages into dry soil, before the opening rains, as a consequence of climate variability. This practice predicates against the survival of rhizobial inoculants, and hence generates uncertainty about legume performance. The research reported here was initiated to improve the robustness of a specific forage legume/rhizobia symbiosis to increase nitrogen fixation in low pH, infertile soils. Rhizobial strains (Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viciae) from Pisum sativum L. were sourced from acid soils in southern Italy and southern Australia. Strains were evaluated for N fixation on the forage legumes P. sativum, Vicia sativa and Vicia villosa, then for survival and persistence in acid soils (pHCa 4.6). Fourteen of the strains produced a higher percentage of nitrogen derived from the atmosphere (%Ndfa) compared to commercial comparator strain SU303 (

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Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1111/gfs.12524