Abstract: Fifteen selected isolates of chickpea-root nodules, from Thal area, having dry loamy sand, were studied for their cultural, biochemical and physiological characters of ecological & agricultural significance. TAL 1148 was taken as reference strain. All the characters studied varied among the isolates. Colony size varied from 1mm to 4mm, while texture from dry gummy to watery/slimy. Ten isolates had mean doubling time (MDT) of 4hrs or less, while four had MDT between 7 and 10 hrs., with no correlation to acid or alkali production. Four of the isolates were thermo-tolerant, while six were found to be highly resistant to draught, having osmotic potential between -22.2 and 31.02 bars. High resistance (up to 800 ug/ml) to Streptomycin was recorded in isolates from Kalurkot. All the isolates differed in their symbiotic effectiveness as well as in relative cell surface charge in terms of methylene blue cation adsorption. Four of the isolates were found capable of solubilizing phosphate In vitro. The isolates differed in their total cell protein profiles. Most of the isolates shared proteins with TAL 1148 in the range of 25 to 45 KD, but differed in proteins above 45 KD. The work reports some unusual characters of rhizobia, which may be exploited in the laboratory as well as in the field.