User:Long23/sandbox

Rhizobia Inoculant

Rhizobia is “the group of soil bacteria that infect the roots of legumes to form root nodules”. Rhizobia is found in the nodules of a legume where they fix nitrogen gas (N2) from the atmosphere turning it in to nitrogen (N). From here the nitrogen is exported from the nodules and used for growth in the legume. Once the legume dies, the nodule breaks down, therefore releasing the rhizobia back into the soil to be used for the next legume.

However, before a legume can be grown the correct rhizobia for that legume must exist before anything can happen. A specific strain of rhizobia is required to make functional nodules on the roots to be able to fix the N2. Having this specific rhizobia present is very beneficial to the legume, as it potentially increases the yield of the crop as well as increases N2 fixation .As farmers looks to possibly expand their selection of crop they will need to inoculate rhizobia for best results, as well as help improve yield of current crops.

Legume inoculation has been an agriculture practice for many years and has continuously improved over time . Each year, throughout the world, it is said that 12-20x106 ha of soybeans are inoculated. The technology to produce these inoculants are microbial fermenters. An ideal inoculant includes some of the following aspects; maximum efficacy, easy to use, compatible with farmer’s practices, contain highest possible number of rhizobia, good shelf-life, be able to use under various field conditions, and good survival .Once this ideal inoculant in produced it is most likely in a liquid or powder form where it is applied directly to the seed before planting.

Poor countries trouble with the introduction of new crops and reaching attainable yield. As they introduce new crops into their soils, these inoculants may foster legume growth and success in the area, therefore giving farmers more options for planting. Using these inoculants provides many other benefits as well such as not having to use nitrogen fertilizers. As a result of the nodulation process, after the harvest of the crop there are higher levels of soil nitrate, which can then be used by the next crop, and no nitrogen fertilizer is needed which would then cut down on costs. Many poor farmers do not have access to the fertilizers anyhow, as they do not have a lot of money to spend on such things, only the essentials.

It has also been stated that “cereals were healthier and higher yielding when grown after a legume”. Cereals are also another major crop grown, so if put in a crop rotation with legumes then rhizobium inoculation can be very beneficial to many crops. Increasing the possible amount of yield for multiple crops would help farmers very much in growing their current food production as well to help close the gap between current yield and potential yield.