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Research Article
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Growth and Nodulation Response of Soybean (Glycine max L.) to Lime,
Bradyrhizobium japonicum and Nitrogen Fertilizer in Acid Soil at Melko,
South Western Ethiopia |
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Workneh Bekere,
Tesfu Kebede
and
Jafer Dawud
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ABSTRACT
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The study was conducted to investigate the effect of liming, Bradyrhizobium
inoculation and nitrogen fertilization on nodulation and growth response of
Clark 63-K soybean variety at Melko, Jimma in 2012 growing season. The crop
was evaluated for nodule number, nodule volume, nodule dry weight, pod bearing
branch number, shoot dry weight and plant height. The combined effect of liming
and Bradyrhizobium inoculation significantly (p<0.05) increased nodule number,
nodule volume and nodule weight dry per plant compared to un-limed and non-inoculated
treatments. On the other hand, nitrogen fertilization did not improve nodulation
parameters of the crop nor its interaction with lime and Bradyrhizobium was
significant. Application of lime and nitrogen gave more branch number, shoot
dry weight and taller soybeans than non-limed and unfertilized treatment when
the crop was grown without inoculation. However, regardless of nitrogen fertilization,
only lime significantly (p<0.05) improved those investigated growth parameters
when the soybean was grown symbiotically with Bradyrhizobium. In acid soils,
co-treatment of Bradyrhizobium japonicum and lime could complement for chemical
fertilizer N in soybean production.
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How
to cite this article:
Workneh Bekere, Tesfu Kebede and Jafer Dawud, 2013. Growth and Nodulation Response of Soybean (Glycine max L.) to Lime,
Bradyrhizobium japonicum and Nitrogen Fertilizer in Acid Soil at Melko,
South Western Ethiopia. International Journal of Soil Science, 8: 25-31.
DOI: 10.3923/ijss.2013.25.31
URL: https://scialert.net/abstract/?doi=ijss.2013.25.31
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Received: October 24, 2012;
Accepted: December 18, 2012;
Published: February 27, 2013
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INTRODUCTION
Soil acidity has long been known to induce N deficiency in legumes if they
depend solely on symbiotic N2 fixation. Aluminum and manganese toxicity
as well as calcium and phosphorus deficiency in this soil inhibit Rhizobium
growth and root infection resulting in symbiotic failure (Bambara
and Ndakidemi, 2010; Negi et al., 2006;
Bakker et al., 1999; Zahran,
1999; Keyser and Munns, 1979). So, for economically
feasible and sustainable agricultural production in the acid soils, liming is
required. Application of lime to acidic soil supply Ca+2 or Mg+2
which is essential to plant growth and neutralize toxicity effect of H+1,
Al+3 and Mn+2 in the soil. On the other hand, it raises
pH of the soil at which Bradyrhizobium acts best and an important plant
macronutrient P is made available to them (Guo et al.,
2009; Negi et al., 2006).
Impairment of nodulation and N2 fixation by legume Rhizobium
symbiosis is noticed when legumes are grown on acid soil (Mohammadi
et al., 2012; Anetor and Akinrinde, 2006;
Munns et al., 1981). Therefore, legume crops
face N deficiency resulting in growth and yield reduction. In this regard, Rice
et al. (2000) reported that soil pH had significant effect on plant
biomass, pink nodule number and pink nodule dry weight of field pea. Indeed,
the quantity of nitrogen fixed by legumes vary depending on a level of soil
nitrogen, effectiveness of strains, management practices, estimation method
and length of growing season (Mabrouk and Belhadj, 2012;
Jensen et al., 2012; George
et al., 1987).
Both symbiotic N2 fixation and mineral fertilizer N contributes
to the N requirement of legumes. In addition to fulfilling their own nitrogen
requirement, they are known to leave residual nitrogen in soil. It is reported
that application of large quantities of fertilizer N inhibits N2
fixation but lower levels stimulate early growth of legumes and increase N2
fixation (Bekere and Hailemariam, 2012; Keyser
and Li, 1992; Munns et al., 1981). It is
now increasingly being realized that integrated soil fertility management involving
combinations of microbial inoculants, inorganic and organic fertilizers are
essential to sustain productivity of acid soil and maintain soil health and
biodiversity for the long run (Ellafi et al., 2011;
Bejiga, 2004). This is especially important for developing
countries like Ethiopia where farming will continue to be in the hands of small
scale farmers.
The negative effect of acid soil on legume production can be explained in many
folds. In addition to its cost and cause of environmental contamination, urea
which is a commonly used chemical fertilizer N, release H+ to the
soil and increase soil acidity. On the other hand, the use of Rhizobium
as bio fertilizer is limited because they are sensitive to acidic soil reaction
(Anetor and Akinrinde, 2006). In Ethiopia, soil acidity
covers about 41% of arable land though its severity extent varies. It is also
true that many small scale farmers of the country depend on this soil for their
livelihoods so that it has been given due attention (Abebe,
2007). Some leguminous crops like soybean can successfully be grown on this
type of soil. So, the experiment was conducted to investigate the combined effect
of lime, Bradyrhizobium and nitrogen fertilizer on nodulation and growth
of Clark 63-K soybean at Melko.
MATERIAL AND METHODS Field experiment was conducted at Jimma Agricultural Research Center, Melko, during June to October in 2012. Jimma Agricultural Research Center is found in South western Ethiopia; in Oromiya National Regional State. It is located at 7°40'47"N latitude and 36°49'47"E longitude. The mean maximum and minimum temperature of the Center are 26.2 and 11.3°C respectively. The elevation of the Center is 1,753 m above sea level and it receives 1,529.5 mm average annual rainfall.
A field of unknown history of soybean cultivation and Bradyrhizobium
inoculation was selected and an area of 546 m2 was prepared. The
field was then divided in to three replications and each replication was divided
in to six experimental units making a total of eighteen plots with an area of
16 m2. Before planting, a composite soil sample was taken from the
upper 0-0.3 m of the experimental field and analyzed for selected physical and
chemical properties (Bray and Kurtz, 1945; Walkley
and Black, 1934). In this line, exchangeable acidity which is sum total
of exchangeable aluminum and hydrogen ion in the soil solution, pH, organic
carbon, available phosphorus and nitrogen content of the experimental soil were
2.31 cmol kg-1, 4.43, 1.87%, 3.85 mg kg-1 and 0.17%, respectively.
Treatments and their application: Legumefix, Urea and CaCO3 were
used as a source of inoculum, nitrogen and lime in the investigation, respectively.
The experiment consisted of two factors of inoculation, with and without inoculation;
two factors of lime; with and without lime; two factors of nitrogen; with and
without nitrogen. Treatments were control (without inoculation+without lime+without
N), inoculation only, N only, lime only, inoculation+lime, inoculation+N, lime+N
and inoculation+lime+N. Clark 63-K, a well performing soybean variety was used
as a test crop. The experiment was conducted in factorial RCB design with three
replications. The amount of lime applied was determined based on exchangeable
acidity, mass per 0.15 m furrow slice and bulk density of the soil (Van
Lierop, 1983; Tran and van Lierop, 1982; Shoemaker
et al., 1961). In this line, 2598.75 kg ha-1 of lime in
the form of CaCO3 was uniformly applied and incorporated in to the
soil a month ago before sowing. Splitting in to two, recommended rate of nitrogen
(46 kg N ha-1) was applied for nitrogen treatment.
Soybean seeds were washed with distilled water and surface sterilized with
70% ethanol. Seeds were then rinsed 3 to 4 times with tap water; moistened with
a 0.2 M dilute sucrose solution and inoculated by covering them with paste of
inoculum which was made from a rate of 10 g of peat-based powder inocula per
100 g (Somasegaran and Hoben, 1985; Deaker
et al., 2004) of seed just before planting. The seeds were then sown
on 10th June. Agronomic practices were uniformly applied for all treatments
throughout the experimental period.
Data collection and analysis: Nodulation parameters such as nodule number
per plant, nodule volume per plant, nodule dry weight per plant were recorded
at mid flowering. Shoot dry matter yield and number of pod bearing branches
and plant height were evaluated at maximum growth after flowering. Count data
such as nodule number and pod bearing branches per plant were transformed by
Square Root Transformation method before analysis (Gomez and
Gomez, 1984). The data were subjected to analysis of variance using SAS
packages and treatment means were separated by Least Significant Difference
(LSD0.05) method.
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Nodulation response of soybean to lime, Bradyrhizobium and N fertilizer:
Nodule number, nodule volume and nodule dry weight per plant of the crop were
significantly influenced by the interaction effect of lime and Bradyrhizobium
(Table 1). Liming the soil significantly (p<0.05) improved
nodule number, nodule volume and nodule dry weight per plant over non-limed
soil when the crop was grown symbiotically with Bradyrhizobium (Table
1).
Table 1: |
Interaction effect of lime and Bradyrhizobium on nodules
of soybean at Melko, Jimma |
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Values followed with the same letter/s for a parameter are
not significantly different at p<0.05 |
When the crop was grown without inoculation, lime had no effect on nodule volume
and nodule dry weight per plant. However, soybeans grown in lime treated soil
had significantly (p<0.05) more nodules than those grown in non-limed soil
even when the bradyrhizobia were not added (Table 1). This
is because of lime created better soil environment for the activity of indigenous
soybean nodulating bacteria existing in that soil. On the other hand, inoculation
of the crop with Bradyrhizobium produced significantly (p<0.05) more
nodule number, nodule volume and nodule dry weight per plant than uninoculated
soybeans under both limed and non-limed soil (Table 1). Lime
and Bradyrhizobium application at the same time produced the highest
nodule number, nodule volume and nodule dry weight per plant of all the combinations.
This finding is in agreement with reports of Munns et
al. (1981), Guo et al. (2009) and Chalk
et al. (2010). The result also revealed that few nodules were observed
on uninoculated soybeans. This is an indicator of the presence of indigenous
soybean nodulating bacteria in the experimental soil (Bekere
and Hailemariam, 2012). Generally, inoculation significantly (p<0.05)
improved nodulation parameters over uninoculated treatment in both limed and
non-limed condition.
The result also indicated that nitrogen fertilization did not improve nodule
number, nodule volume and nodule dry weight as well as its interaction with
lime and Bradyrhizobium was not significant (Table 2).
This result is in agreement with Cassman et al.
(1980) and Seneviratne et al. (2000) findings
who reported the presence or absence of N in soybean nutrient do not significantly
affect nodulation parameter of soybean. This indicates that bio fertilizer inoculants
have a potential to substitute chemical fertilizer N for legumes.
Number of pod bearing branch, shoot dry weight and plant height response
of soybean to lime, Bradyrhizobium and nitrogen fertilizer: Number
of pod bearing branches, shoot dry weight and plant height of the soybean were
significantly (p<0.05) affected by an interaction effect of lime, Bradyrhizobium
and nitrogen fertilizer (Table 3). When the crop was grown
without inoculation, application of lime and nitrogen fertilizer separately
as well as in combination gave significantly higher number of pod bearing branches,
shoot dry weight and taller soybeans than those crops grown without lime and
nitrogen. This result is similar with finding of Chalk
et al. (2010) who reported that dry matter and N2 fixation
of red clover were increased significantly with lime addition. On the other
hand, application of nitrogen had no significant effect on plant height and
number of pod bearing branches in both limed and non-limed soil when the crop
was grown symbiotically with Bradyrhizobium. However, lime significantly
(p<0.05) increased pod bearing branches of the crop to which nitrogen was
applied and with held. Beneficial effect of lime is also reported by Kisinyo
et al. (2005, 2012), Negi
et al. (2006) and Zaroug and Munns (1979) for
symbiotically grown legumes.
Table 2: |
The effect of nitrogen fertilizer on nodules of Clark 63-K
soybean at Melko, Jimma |
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ns: Not significantly different at p<0.05 |
Table 3: |
Effect of lime, Bradyrhizobium and nitrogen fertilizer
on branch number, shoot dry weight and plant height of Clark 63-K soybean
at Melko, Jimma |
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Values followed with the same letter/s for a parameter are
not significantly different at p<0.05 |
The tallest and highest shoot dry weight were recorded in a treatment which
received lime, Bradyrhizobium and nitrogen fertilizer whereas the lowest
values were observed from soybeans which were grown without these inputs.
CONCLUSION
In acid soils, it is important to advice farmers to practice the use of economically
viable and environmentally friendly Bradyrhizobium together with lime
rather than fuel based chemical fertilizer N for effective soybean production.
However, comparison of net economic return of the inputs could be considered
for clear cut recommendation in the investigation area.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors would like to acknowledge Acid Soil Project team members of Jimma Research Center for their participation in data collection and compilation. We would also extend our gratitude to anonymous reviewers of International Journal of Soil Science for their constructive suggestions.
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