TY - JOUR
T1 - Fields with no recent legume cultivation have sufficient nitrogen-fixing rhizobia for crops of faba bean (Vicia faba L.)
AU - Maluk, Marta
AU - Ferrando-Molina, Francesc
AU - Lopez del Egido, Laura
AU - Langarica-Fuentes, Adrian
AU - Yohannes, Genet Gebre
AU - Young, Mark W.
AU - Martin, Peter
AU - Gantlett, Richard
AU - Kenicer, Greg
AU - Hawes, Cathy
AU - Begg, Graham S.
AU - Quilliam, Richard S.
AU - Squire, Geoffrey R.
AU - Young, J. Peter W.
AU - Iannetta, Pietro P.M.
AU - James, Euan K.
N1 - Funding Information:
The James Hutton Institute is supported by the Rural & Environment Science & Analytical Services (RESAS), a division of the Scottish Government. This work was also supported by the EU-FP7 project Legume Futures and the EU H2020 projects: ‘Transition paths to sUstainable legume based systems in Europe’, (TRUE, Grant Agreement Number 727973); ‘Designing InnoVative plant teams for Ecosystem Resilience and agricultural Sustainability’ (DIVERSify, Grant Agreement Number 727824); and, ’A novel and integrated approach to increase multiple and combined stress tolerance in plants using tomato as a model’, (TOMRES, Grant Agreement Number 727929). PPMI and EKJ have also been supported by the Genomia Fund ( www.genomia.org.uk ). MM and EKJ were partly supported by the BBSRC-Newton fund. We thank Roger Vickers at the Processors and Growers Research Organisation (PGRO) and all the growers who allowed us to sample from their fields. Colin Alexander and BIOSS are thanked for their assistance with statistical analyses. Sarah Doherty, Kirstin Buchholz, Gill Banks, Alexandre Baraúna, Linda Ford, Jak Iannetta-Mackay, Paul Neave and Linda Nell are thanked for their technical assistance, and Murray Unkovich for helpful discussions.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/1/20
Y1 - 2022/1/20
N2 - Purpose: (1) To assess the biological N fixation (BNF) potential of varieties of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) cropped with or without compost in an experimental field-scale rotation with no recent history of legumes, (2) to enumerate soil populations of Rhizobium leguminosarum sv. viciae (Rlv), and to genetically characterize the nodulating Rlv strains, (3) compare BNF with other sites in Britain. Methods: BNF was evaluated from 2012 to 2015 using 15 N natural abundance. Treatments were either PK fertilizer or compost. Soil rhizobial populations were determined using qPCR, the symbiotic rhizobia genotyped (16 S rRNA, nodA and nodD genes), and their BNF capacity assessed ex situ. The reliance of legumes on BNF at other British sites was estimated in a single season, and their nodulating symbionts examined. Results: Faba bean obtained most of its N through BNF (>80%) regardless of variety or year. N-accumulation by cvs Babylon and Boxer increased with compost treatment in 2014/2015. Rhizobial populations were c. 105-106Rlv cells g−1 soil regardless of field or treatment. 157 Rlv microsymbionts grouped into two large nodAD clades; one mainly from V. faba, and the other from various legumes. All isolates nodulated, and some performed better than commercial inoculant strains. Conclusions: Faba bean can provide most of its nitrogen through BNF and leave economically valuable residual N for subsequent crops. Recent legume cropping in northern Europe is not essential for effective nodulation: rhizobia may persist in a range of farmland locations. Nevertheless, there is the potential to apply elite rhizobial strains as inoculants in some soils.
AB - Purpose: (1) To assess the biological N fixation (BNF) potential of varieties of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) cropped with or without compost in an experimental field-scale rotation with no recent history of legumes, (2) to enumerate soil populations of Rhizobium leguminosarum sv. viciae (Rlv), and to genetically characterize the nodulating Rlv strains, (3) compare BNF with other sites in Britain. Methods: BNF was evaluated from 2012 to 2015 using 15 N natural abundance. Treatments were either PK fertilizer or compost. Soil rhizobial populations were determined using qPCR, the symbiotic rhizobia genotyped (16 S rRNA, nodA and nodD genes), and their BNF capacity assessed ex situ. The reliance of legumes on BNF at other British sites was estimated in a single season, and their nodulating symbionts examined. Results: Faba bean obtained most of its N through BNF (>80%) regardless of variety or year. N-accumulation by cvs Babylon and Boxer increased with compost treatment in 2014/2015. Rhizobial populations were c. 105-106Rlv cells g−1 soil regardless of field or treatment. 157 Rlv microsymbionts grouped into two large nodAD clades; one mainly from V. faba, and the other from various legumes. All isolates nodulated, and some performed better than commercial inoculant strains. Conclusions: Faba bean can provide most of its nitrogen through BNF and leave economically valuable residual N for subsequent crops. Recent legume cropping in northern Europe is not essential for effective nodulation: rhizobia may persist in a range of farmland locations. Nevertheless, there is the potential to apply elite rhizobial strains as inoculants in some soils.
KW - N natural abundance
KW - Green waste compost
KW - Nitrogen fixation
KW - nodD
KW - qPCR
KW - Rhizobium
KW - Vicia faba L
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U2 - 10.1007/s11104-021-05246-8
DO - 10.1007/s11104-021-05246-8
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85123246003
SN - 0032-079X
VL - 472
SP - 345
EP - 368
JO - Plant and Soil
JF - Plant and Soil
IS - 1-2
ER -