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Plant Growth-Promoting Diazotrophs and Productivity of Wheat on the Canadian Prairies

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Microbial Strategies for Crop Improvement

Abstract

Nitrogen is an essential plant nutrient, which is limiting for wheat production in Canada. To achieve higher yields, farmers often apply large amounts of nitrogen fertilizers at a considerable cost. The prospects of extending biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) to non legume crops, as a way to overcome the high cost and ecological issues of nitrogenous fertilizers, has remained a dream to date. Several studies have reported colonization and N2 fixation by rhizobia strains in chemically-induced para-nodules (nodule-like structures). The extent to which nitrogen fixation in para-nodules and intercellular spaces benefits plants, especially under field conditions remains unclear. Exploiting the benefits of diazotrophs as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) appears to be a more promising approach, assuming that issues of lack of consistency of growth stimulation can be resolved. This chapter describes experiences and progress made in Canada towards the application of Azorhizobium caulinodans and native rhizobia strains as inoculants for improving wheat production.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alberta Research Council, Bioresource Technologies, Bag 4000, Vegreville, Alberta, Canada, T9C 1T4

    Anthony O. Anyia

  2. Laurentian University, 935 Ramsey Lake Road, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, P3E 2C6

    Daniel J. Archambault

  3. Ministerio de la Agricultura, Instituto de Ganadería Tropical, Estación Experimental Sancti-Spiritus, Sancti-Spiritus, Cuba

    Carols J. Bécquer

  4. Alberta Research Council, Bioresource Technologies, Bag 4000, Vegreville, Alberta, Canada, T9C 1T4

    Jan J. Slaski

Authors
  1. Anthony O. Anyia
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  2. Daniel J. Archambault
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  3. Carols J. Bécquer
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  4. Jan J. Slaski
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anthony O. Anyia .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fac. Agricultural Sciences, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, 202002, India

    Mohammad Saghir Khan

  2. Fac. Agricultural Sciences, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, 202002, India

    Almas Zaidi

  3. Fac. Agricultural Sciences, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, 202002, India

    Javed Musarrat

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© 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Anyia, A.O., Archambault, D.J., Bécquer, C.J., Slaski, J.J. (2009). Plant Growth-Promoting Diazotrophs and Productivity of Wheat on the Canadian Prairies. In: Khan, M., Zaidi, A., Musarrat, J. (eds) Microbial Strategies for Crop Improvement. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-01979-1_14

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