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Measurements of N2 fixation by common bean in Central Brazil as affected by different reference crops

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Abstract

An experiment was conducted at EMBRAPA/CNPAF, Goiânia, Goias, Brazil, on a typic haplustox soil to evaluate growth and N2 fixation-related parameters of Phaseolus vulgaris L. Bean lines, which had been selected for N2 fixation at CNPAF, including production cultivars, germplasm bank entries, and parents and progenies of a cross made to improve this characteristic. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and dwarf sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) were evaluated as non-N2-fixing reference crops for difference method (DM) and 15N isotope dilution technique (IDT) estimates of N2 fixation. IDT estimates ranges from 4 to 18 kg N2 fixed ha-1. High variability associated with low levels of N2 fixation precluded definitive identification of the best N2 fixing bean lines. Due to differences in growth cycle and in patterns and amounts of soil N uptake during the season, neither of the reference crops tested appears to be an adequate control for either DM or IDT estimates of N2 fixation. However, ranking of lines for effectiveness in N2 fixation could be performed without the use of any reference crops.

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  1. IBTA, Casilla 3299, Cochabamba, Bolivia

    R. A. Henson

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  1. R. A. Henson
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Henson, R.A. Measurements of N2 fixation by common bean in Central Brazil as affected by different reference crops. Plant Soil 152, 53–58 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00016332

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