Abstract
Growth responses ofCasuarina cunninghamiana to inoculation withFrankia are described in unsterilized field soils at three sites.
At Mt Crawford, South Australia, seedlings of three provenances ofC. cunninghamiana were inoculated with a singleFrankia source just prior to planting out. Forty-four months after planting, inoculation had more than doubled wood production by twoC. cunninghamiana provenances, whilst a third provenance grew poorly and did not respond to inoculation.
In Zimbabwe, seedlings of one provenance ofC. cunninghamiana were inoculated in the nursery with one of four differentFrankia strains. In an N deficient soil at Kadoma, three of theseFrankia increased tree height 14 months after planting by between 50% and 70% in comparison to the uninoculated seedlings. The fourthFrankia strain resulted in increased tree height to three times that of the uninoculated controls and up to double that of the other threeFrankia strains.
At Gympie, Queensland, Australia, seedlings ofC. cunninghamiana raised open-rooted in a nursery bed were inoculated withFrankia seventeen weeks before planting out. During the 22 months following planting in the field, tree growth was limited by soil P status and there was no response in tree height or stem diameter to inoculation withFrankia or to N fertilizer unless P was applied. In the presence of added P there was a significant response both toFrankia inoculation and to N fertilizer. This positive interaction between P application and N treatment was reflected in wood volumes-inoculated trees and those trees supplied N fertilizer produced 34% and 95% more wood volume than did the uninoculated trees.
These results demonstrate the potential to increase the productivity of Casuarina plantings by inoculation withFrankia and by alleviation of P deficiency.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Carpenter C V, Robertson L R, Gordon J C and Perry D A 1984 The effect of four newFrankia isolates on growth and nitrogenase activity in clones ofAlnus rubra andAlnus sinuata. Can. J. For. Res. 14, 701–706.
Coyne P D 1983 Specificity betweenCasuarina species and root nodule organisms In Casuarina Ecology, Management and Utilization, Eds. S J Midgleyet al. pp 205–210. CSIRO, Melbourne.
Dawson J O and Sun Soon-Hwa 1981 The effect ofFrankia isolates fromComptonia peregrina andAlnus crispa on the growth ofAlnus glutinosa, A. cordata andA. incana clones. Can. J. For. Res. 11, 758–762.
Diem H G and Gauthier D L 1982 Effet de l'infection endomycorrhizienne (Glomus mosseae) sur la nodulation et al croissance deCasuarina equisetifolia. C.R. Acad. Sci. Pris, 294 ser 3, 215–218.
Diem H G Gauthier D and Dommergues Y 1983 An effective strain ofFrankia fromCasuarina sp. Can. J. Bot. 61, 2815–2821.
Dillon J T and Baker D 1982 Variations in nitrogenase activity among pure-culturedFrankia strains tested on actinorhizal plants as an indication of symbiotic compatibility. New Phytol. 92, 215–219.
Dommergues Y R 1963 Evaluation du taux de fixation de l'azote dans un sol dunaire reboise en filao (Casuarina equisetifolia). Agrochimica 7, 335–40.
Fleming A I, Williams E R and Turnbull J W 1987 Growth and nodulation and nitrogen fixation of provenances ofCasuarina cunninghamiana inoculated with a range ofFrankia sources. Aust. J. Bot. (in press).
Gauthier D, Diem H G and Dommergues Y R 1985 Assessment of N2 fixation byCasuarina equisetifolia inoculated withFrankia ORS 021001 using15N methods. Soil Biol. Biochem. 17, 375–379.
Hewitt E J and Bond G 1961 Molybdenum and the fixation of nitrogen in Casuarina and Alnus nodules. Plant and Soil 14, 159–175.
Hewitt E J and Bond G 1966 The cobalt requirement of non legume root nodule plants. J. Exp. Bot. 17, 480–491.
Kant S and Narayana H S 1978 Effect of water stress on growth, nodulation and nitrogen fixation inCasuarina equisetifolia Ann. Arid Zone 17, 216–221.
Midgley S J, Turnbull J W and Johnston R D 1983 Casuarina Ecology, Management and utilization CSIRO, Melbourne.
Murry M A Fontaine M S and Torrey J G 1984 Growth kinetics and nitrogenase induction in Frankia sp. HFPArI3 grown in batch culture. Plant and Soil 78, 61–78.
National Research Council 1984 Casuarinas: Nitrogen-fixing trees for adverse sites. National Academy Press. Washington, D.C.
Reddell P and Bowen G D 1985Frankia source affects growth, nodulation and nitrogen fixation inCasuarina species. New Phytol. 100, 115–122.
Reddell P, Bowen G D and Robson A D 1985 The effects of soil temperature on plant growth, nodulation and nitrogen fixation inCasuarina cunninghamiana Miq. New Phytol. 101, 441–450.
Reddell P, Bowen G D and Robson A D 1986 Nodulation of Casuarinaceae in relation to host species and soil properties. Aust J. Bot. 34, 435–444.
Rosbrook P A and Bowen G D 1987 The abilities of threeFrankia isolates to nodulate and fix nitrogen with four species of Casuarina. Physiol. Plant. 70, 373–377.
Shipton W A and Burggraaf A J P 1983 Aspects of the cultural behaviour ofFrankia isolates in relation to infectivity and nitrogen fixation (acetylene reduction) Plant and Soil 61, 2783–2792.
Snyder E B 1972 Glossary for forest tree improvement workers. Revised edition. USDA Southern Forest Experimental Station.
Sougoufara B, Duhoux E, Corbasson M and Dommergues Y 1987 Improvement of nitrogen fixation byCasuarina equisetifolia through clonal selection: a research note. Arid Soil Res. Reclam. 1, 129–132.
Torrey J G 1978 Nitrogen fixation by actinomycete-nodulated angiosperms. Bioscience 28, 586–592.
Zhang Z, Lopez M F and Torrey J G 1984 A comparison of cultural characteristics and infectivity of Frankia isolates from root nodules ofCasuarina species. Plant and Soil 78, 79–90.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Reddell, P., Rosbrook, P.A., Bowen, G.D. et al. Growth responses inCasuarina cunninghamiana plantings to inoculation withFrankia . Plant Soil 108, 79–86 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02370102
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02370102