Summary
While properly nodulated pasture legumes are among the most efficient nitrogen fixers they are generally neither productive nor persistent in the absence of appropriate rhizobia. Selection and evaluation of effective rhizobia to maximize nitrogen fixation in pasture legumes involve 1) regional surveys of the production area, 2) strain collection, 3) strain selection, 4) strain identification, 5) field evaluation of strains, and 6) inoculant production. In this paper, a set of procedures is presented for each of the stages of the selection and evaluation process, with particular reference to annual Medicago spp. (medics).
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Materon, L.A. (1988). Maximizing Biological Nitrogen Fixation by Forage and Pasture Legumes in Semi-Arid Areas. In: Beck, D.P., Materon, L.A. (eds) Nitrogen Fixation by Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture. Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences, vol 32. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1387-5_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1387-5_4
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