Studies on inoculation of cover legumes for improving nitrogen fixation

Abstract

Many rhizobial strains were screened for their nodulating ability against Pueraria, Centrosema, Calopogonium and Desmodium spp. using seedlings grown in nutrient agar. Pueraria in pots but not in the field. This is probably due to natural populations of rhizobia in the soil which were able to successfully compete with the introduced strains in nodulating on the legume. There was evidence that indigenous rhizobia themselves formed effective nodule and fixed nitrogen.