Abstract
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency have through their Joint FAO/IAEA Division in Vienna and the Agriculture Laboratory in Seibersdorf, Austria coordinated international programmes on biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) in developing countries for more than two decades. The main objectives of these programmes have been to enhance nitrogen fixation in various cropping systems and to develop and optimize the 15N isotope dilution method to quantify N2 fixation in leguminous crops. In connection to the various FAO/IAEA programmes fellowships and training courses are being offered.
Experiments, conducted as part of Coordinated Research Programmes, are performed in a number of countries simultaneously and, therefore, produce results applicable to a wide range of environmental conditions. Due to this replication of experiments, solutions to problems can often be found in one season. Another feature of the FAO/IAEA Coordinated Research Programmes is the transfer of research techniques to developing countries through the Research Co-ordination Meetings and workshops. Volunteer experts in the field of study help the FAO/IAEA staff with this task.
The BNF programmes initiated some twenty years ago focused on grain legumes and the development of 15N methodology to measure BNF. These programmes were followed by others in which BNF in forage, pasture legumes, Azolla and tree legumes was quantified. The most recent programmes emphasize the enhancement of nitrogen fixation in some grain legume species through genetic improvement. Selected results from the above programmes will be presented.
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© 1994 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Hardarson, G. (1994). International FAO/IAEA programmes on biological nitrogen fixation. In: Graham, P.H., Sadowsky, M.J., Vance, C.P. (eds) Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation. Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences, vol 57. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1088-4_23
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1088-4_23
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