Significance and Impact of the StudyWith increasing negative impacts posed by the prolonged usage of external inputs such as chemical fertilizers as well as the adverse effects of abiotic stresses on both soil health and crop productivity, the need arises to look for sustainable means of mitigating these problems. This study investigates the plant growth-promoting traits in Burkholderia sp. Nafp2/4-1b and its impacts on the nodulation of the legume Medicago sativa L. when co-inoculated with Rhizobium spp. The findings provide baseline information in the development Burkholderia sp. Nafp2/4-1b as a commercial inoculant for use in the sustainable production of essential crops.
Pigeonpea is an important grain legume. It contributes to the improvement of soil fertility through biological nitrogen (N) fixation. However, the symbiotic efficiency of pigeonpea with native soil rhizobia has not been determined adequately. This study was designed to determine the variation in the N fixation ability of pigeonpea inoculated with the native rhizobia. Forty soil samples were collected from diverse locations across South Africa and used for inoculating pigeonpea seed. Each pigeonpea genotype was inoculated separately with each soil sample and raised in a nitrogen-depleted growth medium in the greenhouse. A split-plot experimental design was used in the study. Several N fixation variables of pigeonpea were measured. There was >40.0% difference in the number of nodules between genotypes ‘Ex-PP-MD-321’ and ‘Mpuma-B-Spot’ but the nodule dry weight between the two genotypes was >80.0%. In contrast, the heaviest dry shoots (0.4513 g), weighed 52.0% heavier than those that were observed for ‘Mpuma-B-Spot’. Pigeonpea showed differential N fixation ability with the nodules, suggesting that there was potential to select for optimum host × rhizobial isolate combinations for the process and to expand the production area of the crop.
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