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Biological nitrogen fixation and soil fertility maintenance

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Management of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fertilizers in Sub-Saharan Africa

Part of the book series: Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences ((DPSS,volume 24))

Abstract

Nitrogen compounds comprise from 40% to 50% of the dry matter of protoplasm, the living substance of plant cells. For this reason, N is required in large quantities by growing plants and is indeed the key to soil fertility. NonN2-fixing plants—for example, cereals—take all the N they need from the soil. In Senegalese conditions this uptake was estimated to be as follows: 79–132 kg N/ha/crop for pearl millet; 74–84 for rice; 134 for sorghum; and 121–138 for maize [3]. N2-fixing plants, essentially legumes, take a part of the N they require from the atmosphere, but we shall see later that the N uptake from soil may be relatively high.

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Authors
  1. Y. R. Dommergues
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  2. F. Ganry
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Agro-Economic Division, IFDC, Muscle Shoals, Alabama, USA

    A. Uzo Mokwunye (Soil Scientist) & Paul L. G. Vlek (Director) (Soil Scientist) &  (Director)

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© 1986 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht

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Dommergues, Y.R., Ganry, F. (1986). Biological nitrogen fixation and soil fertility maintenance. In: Mokwunye, A.U., Vlek, P.L.G. (eds) Management of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fertilizers in Sub-Saharan Africa. Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences, vol 24. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4398-8_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4398-8_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-8456-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-4398-8

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