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Elevated UV-B radiation depressed biomass yield and symbiotic N2-fixation in Bradyrhizobium inoculated cowpea varieties

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Abstract

The Rhizobium-legume symbiosis plays an important role in improving soil fertility and crop productivity, particularly in inherently poor soils in developing countries. However, nodulation and symbiotic nitrogen fixation in tropical legumes might be reduced due to the climate change-driven increases in ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation. Hence, a greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of UV-B radiation on two cowpea varieties inoculated with a Bradyrhizobium strain. The treatments studied consisted of two cowpea varieties (Keti (IT99K-1122) and TVU), two levels of inoculation (control and inoculated with Bradyrhizobium strain CP-24), and two UV-B radiation levels (ambient and 0.4 W m−2 supplement) laid out in a completely randomized design with three replications. The 15 N natural abundance technique was used to estimate the symbiotic N2-fixation. Analysis of variance showed that treatments markedly affected cowpea varieties' performance, and varieties responded differently to elevated UV-B radiation. Of the two varieties, Keti produced more nodules and nodule dry weight, but the TVU variety excelled in shoot biomass, shoot N content, and fixed-N. Inoculation markedly increased shoot biomass, nodule dry weight, shoot N content, and amount of N fixed. On the other hand, the supplemented UV-B radiation caused a significant reduction in nodule number (55%), nodule dry weight (74%), shoot biomass (22%), shoot N content (18%), and amount of fixed-N (19%) compared to the plants grown under ambient UV-B condition. These findings, therefore, indicate the need for identifying improved UV-B resistant varieties and inoculants with UV-B effect nullifying capacity to minimize the current and projected UV-B radiation effect on symbiotic nitrogen contribution of nodulating legumes during climate change times.

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Funding

This publication is an output of a PhD scholarship at the Hawassa Universtiy, in the framework of the German-Ethiopian SDG Graduate School “Climate Change Effects on Food Security (CLIFOOD)” between the Food Security Center, University of Hohenheim (Germany) and the Hawassa University (Ethiopia), supported by the DAAD with funds from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Agriculture, Hawassa University, P.O. Box 05, Hawassa, Ethiopia

    Tewodros Ayalew & Tarekegn Yoseph

  2. Institute of Agricultural Sciences in the Tropics (Hans-Rothenberg-Institute), University of Hohenheim, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany

    Georg Cadisch

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  1. Tewodros Ayalew
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  2. Tarekegn Yoseph
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  3. Georg Cadisch
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Correspondence to Tewodros Ayalew.

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Ayalew, T., Yoseph, T. & Cadisch, G. Elevated UV-B radiation depressed biomass yield and symbiotic N2-fixation in Bradyrhizobium inoculated cowpea varieties. Symbiosis 87, 201–211 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-022-00868-7

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