Abstract
Some pseudomonads produce a toxin that specifically inhibits winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) root growth and the growth of several microorganisms. The toxin does not inhibit pea (Pisum sativum) root growth, but the organisms are aggressive root colonizers and their effect on Rhizobium leguminosarum growth, colonization, and nodulation of peas was not known. Peas were grown in Leonard jars in the greenhouse. Pea roots were inoculated with R. leguminosarum, a toxin-producing Pseudomonas sp., both, or neither (control). The Pseudomonas sp. colonized pea roots more rapidly and in greater number than R. leguminosarum after ten days. In the presence of the Pseudomonas sp., the R. leguminosarum population on the rhizoplane was less at ten days. When the roots were inoculated with both R. leguminosarum and Pseudomonas sp., the number of nodules were greater than when R. leguminosarum was inoculated alone, but nodule dry weight and pea shoot biomass were similar to plants inoculated with only R. leguminosarum. Although these results need confirmation with non-sterile soil and field studies, these preliminary results indicate that peas will not be affected by wheat root-inhibitory rhizobacteria.
References
BoltonJr H and Elliott L F 1989 Plant and Soil 114, 269–278.
BoltonJr H et al. 1989 Plant and Soil 114, 279–287.
Bhuvaneswari T V et al. 1980 Plant Physiol. 66, 1027–1031.
BurnsJr T et al. 1981 Plant and Soil 62, 399–412.
Elliott L F and Lynch J M 1984 Soil Biol. Biochem. 16, 69–72.
Fredrickson J K and Elliott L F 1985 Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 49, 1172–1177.
Fredrickson J K et al. 1987 Soil Biol. Biochem. 19, 127–134.
Fuhrmann J and WollumII A G 1989 Biol. Fertil. Soils 7, 108–112.
Grimes H D and Mount M S 1984 Soil Biol. Biochem. 16, 27–30.
Jordan D C 1984 In Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, Vol. 1. Ed. N R Krieg and J G Holt. pp 234–242. Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore.
Kosslak R M et al. 1983 Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 46, 870–873.
Li D-M and Alexander M 1988 Plant and Soil 108, 211–219.
Leonard L T 1943 J. Bacteriol. 45, 523–525.
Papendick R I and Miller D E 1977 J. Soil Water Conserv. 32, 49–56.
Rovira A D 1979. In The Soil Root Interface. Ed. J LHarley and R SRussell. pp 145–160. Academic Press, New York.
Sands D C and Rovira A D 1970 Appl. Microbiol. 20, 513–514.
Smith R S and Miller R H 1974 Agron. J. 66, 564–567.
Steel R G D and Torrie J H 1980 Principles and Procedures of Statistics: a Biometrical Approach. Second Ed. McGraw Hill Book Company, New York, 633 p.
Turco R F et al. 1986 Soil Biol. Biochem. 18, 259–262.
Turgeon B G and Bauer W D 1982 Can. J. Bot. 60, 152–161.
Weaver R W and Frederick L R 1982 In Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 2. Ed. A LPage. pp 1043–1049. American Society of Agronomy, Madison.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bolton, H., Elliott, L.F., Turco, R.F. et al. Rhizoplane colonization of pea seedlings by Rhizobium leguminosarum and a deleterious root colonizing Pseudomonas sp. and effects on plant growth. Plant Soil 123, 121–124 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00009936
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00009936