Abstract
Effects of inoculating four Arachis hypogaea ssp. fastigiata cultivars with 17 Bradyrhizobium spp. strains were studied in a glasshouse experiment using a sandy soil devoid of an indigenous Bradyrhizobium population. Firstly, a wide range of parameters, indicative of symbiotic performance, were assessed for their influence on seed yield, by correlation and statistical analyses. It was found that nodule dry weight and leaf area were relevant parameters concerning seed yield. Secondly, the effects of host and strain genotype on those parameters were described.
Variations in nodule dry weight did not have an effect on seed yield, except for cultivar Natal Common at lower nodule dry weight values. Therefore, it was concluded that the quantity of nitrogen fixing tissue met the demand for combined nitrogen and did not limit seed yield. This conclusion was further supported by the observation that at low nodule numbers per plant the nodule size increased to generate sufficient nitrogen fixing tissue.
Leaf area, which comprises components for both photosynthetic capacity and plant development, was found to correlate well with seed yield. An increase in leaf area resulted in significant seed yield increases for all three spanish-type cultivars, but not for the valencia-type cultivar. Leaf area, thus, appeared as a factor limiting seed yield of spanish-type groundnuts.
Cultivar performance concerning seed yield was significantly better for Natal Common compared to the other three cultivars, while Natal Common had a significantly lower plant (biomass excluding seed) dry weight value.
Inoculation with different strains of Bradyrhizobium resulted in significantly different nodule dry weight values, but hardly led to significant differences in seed yield. This agreed with the finding that the amount of nitrogen fixing tissue appeared not to limit the availability of combined nitrogen.
A large quantity of nitrogen was partitioned to the groundnut seeds: 62% to 76% of total accumulated nitrogen was located in the seeds.
This study showed that testing for symbiotic effectiveness in the groundnut Bradyrhizobium symbiosis should include assessment of final (seed and biomass) yield, because parameters measured at stages prior to maturity, like nodulation parameters, may lead to flawed effectiveness ratings.
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Van Rossum, D., Muyotcha, A., Van Verseveld, H.W. et al. Effects of Bradyrhizobium strain and host genotype, nodule dry weight and leaf area on groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L. ssp. fastigiata) yield. Plant Soil 154, 279–288 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00012533
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00012533