Abstract
Attention is being paid to improving the N2 fixation of promiscuous nodulating soybeans in an attempt to develop sustainable cropping systems in the moist savanna. There is however a dearth of reliable estimates of N2 fixation by these promiscuous soybeans and hardly any quantitative information is available on their residual N benefits to subsequent cereal crops grown in the southern Guinea savanna zone. The15 N isotope dilution method was used to assess symbiotic N2 fixation and response to inoculation and N contribution of three IITA promiscuous and two Brazilian soybean lines grown in the field at Mokwa (southern Guinea savanna) for two years. Rhizobial inoculation increased total N and grain yield of early maturing cultivars IAC 100 and TGX 1456–2E but did not affect the late maturing cultivar TGX 1660–19F. Both fixed N (Ndfa) and N derived from the soil were the major sources of N accounting for 84 and 75 kg N ha-1 or 46 and 43%, respectively, of the plant total N. A line effect was, however, apparent with the late maturing line TGX 1660–19F deriving on the average 126 kg N ha-1 or 52% of plant total N from N2 fixation compared to the early maturing line IAC 100 with 37 kg N ha-1 or 38%. Total N accumulated and amounts of N2 fixed were low during early growth (V2/V3 and R1/R2 stages), but increased rapidly after this period to reach the maximum at R3/R4 and then dropped after R3/R4. The proportion of Ndfa, however, increased with the growing period. At the physiological maturity (R8), N2 fixed accounted for an average of 70% of total N accumulated in the seeds. Roots accumulated about 13% while leaves and stems had 53 and 32% of the entire plant N at R3/R4, respectively. It was estimated after grain removal, that soybean growth led to a net contribution of an average of 18 kg N ha-1 to soil N. However, the N contribution ranged from - 8 to 43 kg N ha-1 depending on the soybean cultivars and inoculation treatment.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Asanuma S, Thottappily G, Ayanaba A and Ranga Rao V 1985 Use of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the detection of Rhizobium both in culture and from root nodules of soybeans and cowpeas. Can. J. Microbiol. 31, 524–528.
Axmann H 1990 Methodology of 15N determination. In Use of Nuclear Techniques in studies of Soil and Plant Relationships. Ed.G Hardarson. pp 55–59. International Atomic EnergyAgency (IAEA), Vienna.
Bergersen F J, Turner G L, Gault R R, Chase D L and Brockwell J 1985 The natural abundance of 15N in an irrigated soybean crop and its use for the calculation of nitrogen fixation. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 36, 411–423.
Buresh R J and De Datta S K 1991 Nitrogen dynamics and management in rice-legume cropping systems. Adv. Agron. 45, 1–59.
Carsky R J, Abaidoo R, Dashiell K and Sanginga N 1997 Effect of soybean on subsequent maize grain yield in Guinea savanna of West Africa. Afr. Crop Sci. J. 5(1), 31.
Chowdhury M S 1975 Response of soybean to Rhizobium inoculation at Morogoro, Tanzania. In Biological Nitrogen Fixation in Farming Systems of the Tropics. Ed. A Ayanaba and P J Dart. pp 245–253. John Wiley and Sons, Chichester.
Eaglesham A R, Ayanaba A, Ranga Rao V and Eskew D L 1982 Mineral N effects on cowpea and soybean crops in a Nigerian soil. II. Amounts of N fixed and accrual to the soil. Plant Soil 68, 184–192.
Eaglesham R J 1985 Comparison of nodulation promiscuity of USand Asian-type soybeans. Trop. Agric. (Trinidad) 62, 105–109.
Fried M and Middelboe V 1977 Measurement of amount of nitrogen fixed by a legume crop. Plant Soil 47, 713–715.
Hardarson G, Zapata F and Danso S K A 1984 Symbiotic nitrogen fixation by soybean lines. Plant Soil 82, 397–405.
Johnson J W, Welch L F and Kurtz L T 1974 Soybeans' role in nitrogen balance. Ill. Res. 16, 6–7.
Kueneman E A, Root W R, Dashiell K E and Hohenberg J 1984 Breeding soybeans for the tropics capable of nodulating effectively with indigenous Rhizobium spp. Plant Soil 82 387–396.
Kumar Rao JV DK and Dart P J 1987 Nodulation, nitrogen fixation and nitrogen uptake in pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp) of different maturity groups. Plant Soil 99, 255–266.
Mpepereki S and Makonese F 1996 Promiscuous nodulation of soybean (Glycine max L. Merril). Potential in small-scale cropping systems in Zimbabwe-7th AABNF conference, 2 to 7 September 1996, Yamoussoukro, Cote d'Ivoire.
Okereke U G and Eaglesham A R J 1993 Nodulation and nitrogen fixation by 79 'Promiscuous' soybean genotypes in a soil in eastern Nigeria. Agron. Afr. 5, 123–135.
Olufajo O O and Adu J K 1993 Nodulation of soybean grown under field conditions and inoculated with Bradyrhizobium japonicum strains. In Biological Nitrogen Fixation and Sustainability of Tropical Agriculture. Eds. K Mulongoy, M Gueye and D S C Spencer. pp 147–154. John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Patterson T G and La Rue T A 1983 Nitrogen fixation by soybeans: seasonal and lines effects and comparison of estimates. Crop Sci. 23, 488–492.
Peoples M B and Crasswell E T 1992 Biological nitrogen fixation: Investments, expectations and actual contributions to agriculture. Plant Soil 141, 13–39.
Pulver E L, Brockman F and Wein C 1982 Nodulation of soybean lines with Rhizobium spp. and their response to inoculation with R. japonicum. Crop. Sci. 25, 1065–1070.
Pulver E L, Kueneman E A and Rao V R 1984 Identification of promiscuous nodulating soybeans efficiency in N2 fixation. Crop Sci. 25, 660–663.
Rao V R, Ayanaba A, Eaglesham A J and Kueneman E A 1981 Exploiting symbiotic nitrogen fixation for increasing soybean yields in Africa. In GIAM VI Global Impacts of Applied Microbiology. Eds. S O Emejuaiwe, O Ogunbi and S O Sanni. pp 153–167. Academic Press, London.
Rennie R J, Dubetz S, Bole J B and Muendel H H 1982 Dinitrogen fixation measured by 15N isotope dilution in two Canadian soybean lines. Agronomy 4, 725–730.
Saint Macary H, Bernard P, Scaglia J A, Hakizimana A and Pandzou J 1993 Inoculation des légumineuses en milieu tropical: recherche-développement et aspects économiques. In Biological Nitrogen Fixation and Sustainability of Tropical Agriculture. Eds. K Mulongoy, M Gueye and DS C Spencer. pp 343–351. John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Sanginga N, Abaidoo R, Dashiell K, Carsky R J and Okogun JA 1996 Persistence and effectiveness of rhizobia nodulating promiscuous soybeans in moist savanna zones of Nigeria. Appl. Soil Ecol. 3, 215–224.
Sanginga N, Thottappilly G and Dashiell K 1997 Reassessment of promiscuity and effectiveness of rhizobial strains nodulating soybean in moist savanna. Soil Biol. Biochem. (submitted).
Statistical Analysis System Institute Inc. 1989 SAS/STAT User's guide. Version 4th edn., Vol. 1., SAS, Cary, NC.
Vincent J M 1970 A Manual for the practical Study of Root Nodule Bacteria. Blackwell, Oxford.
Weaver R W 1970 A new technique for most-probable-number counts of rhizobia. Plant. Soil 36, 219–222.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sanginga, N., Dashiell, K., Okogun, J. et al. Nitrogen fixation and N contribution by promiscuous nodulating soybeans in the southern Guinea savanna of Nigeria. Plant and Soil 195, 257–266 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004207530131
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004207530131