Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, rhizobia, available soil P and nodulation of groundnut ( Arachis hypogaea) in Zimbabwe

• Published in: Agriculture, ecosystems & environment Vol. 110; no. 3; pp. 143 - 148
• Main Authors: Lekberg, Y., Koide, R.T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.11.2005; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Arachis hypogaea; Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; Available soil P; Bacteria; Biological and medical sciences; Bradyrhizobiaceae; dry matter accumulation; Economic plant physiology; field crops; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Glomus intraradices; nitrogen; nodulation; Nodule number; nutrient content; peanuts; potassium; Rhizobia; Rhizobium; soil fertility; soil inoculation; soil nutrient balance; Subsistence farming; Symbiosis (nodules, symbiotic nitrogen fixation, mycorrhiza...); vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizae; Zimbabwe; Zimbabwe; Africa; Nodule number; Zimbabwe; Rhizobia; Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; Available soil P; Subsistence farming; Growth; Plant nodule; Fungi; Dicotyledones; Angiospermae; Thallophyta; Symbiosis; Microorganism interrelationships; Arachis hypogaea; Phosphorus; Bioavailability; Nitrogen; Soils; Endomycorrhiza; Leguminosae; Mycorrhiza; Spermatophyta; Colonization; Interspecific relation; Plant microorganism relation
• ISSN: 0167-8809; 1873-2305
• DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2005.03.011

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) colonization and nodulation of groundnut were examined in nine soils collected from subsistence farmers’ fields in Zimbabwe. Nodule number, shoot dry weight, shoot N and P contents, and AMF colonization were assessed after 6 weeks growth. Both nodule number and AMF colonization differed by an order of magnitude among the nine soils. Soil available P explained almost all the variability in nodule number ( r 2 = 0.98), but had no significant effect on percent AMF colonization. By adding P to one soil, nodule numbers increased four-fold resulting in a significantly higher N content in the shoots. Similar, but smaller, effects were obtained by increasing the abundance of AMF through an inoculation with Glomus intraradices, suggesting that nodulation in this soil was limited by AMF abundance and that the fungi could, to a limited extent, substitute for P fertilizer.