Studies on alternative means of legume inoculation: appraisal of application of inoculant suspended in irrigation water (water-run inoculation).
1994
Gault R.R. | Hebb D.M. | Brockwell J. | Bernardi A.L. | Banks L.W. | Thompson J.A. | Andrews J.A.
In a novel method of inoculating crop legumes with rhizobia, inoculant suspended in irrigation water is delivered into the seedbed. Field experiments were conducted at 2 sites with soybeans furrow irrigated after sowing, or flood irrigation before sowing. A peat inoculant of Bradyrhizobium japonicum remained uniformly in suspension during 45 min and distances of 80 m from the point of introduction. With furrow irrigation on a poorly structured soil, water had to infiltrate laterally a distance of about 18 cm to reach the seed sown on hills. Inoculation applied at the normal rate did not initiate a satisfactory symbiosis, and the method is judged to be inappropriate under these conditions. Symbiosis was however improved by higher rates of inoculation and was particularly enhanced in an area where the water ponded for 3 to 4 h. With flood irrigation on a grey clay, an approximately normal rate of inoculant induced an effective symbiosis.
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