Determinants of nodulation competitiveness in Rhizobium etli. Final report for period September 30, 1996--September 29, 1999

Handelsman, Jo

Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA (United States)

关键词: Fertilizers;    Nutrients;    Crops;    Nitrogen Fixation;    Soils;   

DOI  :  10.2172/765240
RP-ID  :  NONE
RP-ID  :  FG02-96ER20248
RP-ID  :  765240

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

Nitrogen is a major limiting nutrient in crop production. Chemical fertilizers, which are used extensively to meet crop nitrogen requirements, contribute to the high energy inputs of modern agriculture and cause human health and environmental problems. Legumes and their bacterial associates have long been used in crop rotations to replenish soil nitrogen, but effective and reliable biological nitrogen fixation for beans is prevented by the lack of nodulation competitiveness of many Rhizobium strains used as inoculants. The result is that the inoculant strains will not occupy the host's nodules and no benefit will be derived from inoculation. Many indigenous soil strains of Rhizobium etli bv. phaseoli, the symbiont of bean, nodulate but fix little or no nitrogen, and therefore the nodulation competitiveness problem is significant for achieving maximum nitrogen benefit from bean crops. This project was directed toward developing an understanding of the basis of nodulation competitiveness.