Abstract
Tropical cowpea rhizobia are often presumed to be generally promiscuous but poor N fixers. This study was conducted to evaluate symbiotic interactions of 59 indigenous rhizobia isolates (49 of them from cowpea (Vigna unguiculata)), with up to 13 other (mostly tropical) legume species. Host ranges averaged 2.4 and 2.3 legume species each for fast- and slow-growing isolates respectively compared to 4.3 for slow-growing reference cowpea strains. An average of 22% and 19% of fast- and slow-growing cowpea isolates respectively were effective on each of 12 legume species tested. We conclude that the indigenous cowpea rhizobia studied have relatively narrow host ranges. The ready nodulation of different legumes in tropical soils appears due to the diversity of indigenous symbiotic genotypes, each consisting of subgroups compatible with a limited number of legume species.
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Mpepereki, S., Wollum, A.G. & Makonese, F. Diversity in symbiotic specificity of cowpea rhizobia indigenous to Zimbabwean soils. Plant Soil 186, 167–171 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00035071
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00035071