Growth effects of Rhizobium inoculation in some legume plants

Leguminous crops, possessing root nodules, fix and utilize atmospheric nitrogen. They are thus not dependent on industrially fixed nitrogen but add up to 30 kg of nitrogen / hectare to the soil and improve its fertility. Access to mineral nitrogen often limits plant growth, and so symbiotic relationships have evolved between plants and a variety of nitrogen-fixing organisms. These associations are responsible for reducing 120 million tons of atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia each year. In agriculture, independence from nitrogenous fertilizers expands crop production and minimizes pollution of water tables, lakes and rivers. Two kinds of pulses, Vigna mungo and Vigna radiata were taken for this study to find out the impact of artificial inoculation of Rhizobium japonicum with charcoal carrier on the production of grains over the non inoculated one. The results show that in both V. mungo and V. radiata varieties studied, the inoculated plants possessed greater height, greater fresh weight, greater number of roots, nodules, greater number of leaves, shoots, pods, greater length of pods, greater seed weight, over their respective controls. The percentage increase in all these parameters was statistically significant. Hence it is concluded that the commercial inocula of Rhizobium with charcoal used by as in seed inoculation of the pulses namely Vigna mungo (Linn.) Hepper. T-9 variety and Vigna radiata (Linn.) Wilzek S8 variety has resulted in significant increases in growth and yield potential over the respective non inoculated control plants.