Indigenous populations of rhizobia, legume response to inoculation and farmer awareness of inoculants in East and Southern Africa

dc.contributor.author Woomer, P. L.
dc.contributor.author Karanja, N. K.
dc.contributor.author Mekki, E. I.
dc.contributor.author Mwakalombe, B.
dc.contributor.author Tembo, H.
dc.contributor.author Nkwiine, C.
dc.contributor.author Silver, M.
dc.contributor.author Nyika, M.
dc.contributor.author Ndakidemi, P.
dc.contributor.author Msumali, G.
dc.date.accessioned 2011-11-17T12:33:21Z
dc.date.available 2011-11-17T12:33:21Z
dc.date.issued 1997
dc.description.abstract The Rhizobium Ecology Network of East and Southern Africa (RENEASA) is a participatory research affiliation of microbiologists and agronomists which seeks to better understand biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) and promote the use of rhizobial inoculants. The Network was initiated in 1991 to describe the rhizobial populations in soils. In 1994, two new areas of research were included; green house testing of legume inoculation and implementation of a survey addressing farmer awareness of BNF. One or all of these topics were investigated by 13 collaborators in 10 countries. Indigenous rhizobial populations were characterised at 46 sites by plant infection counts of legumes from different cross-inoculation groups. Bradyrhizobium spp. were the most frequently observed species in the wet and semi-arid lowlands (2.37 and l.84log10 cells g soil-l, respectively), and were consistently high in the humid areas of Uganda. Rhizobia nodulating bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) were greatest in highland soils (3.01 log10 cells g soil-1), particularly in the Kenyan and Rwandan Highlands. Thirty-six legume inoculant experiments were conducted in cooperators' glasshouses involving twelve soils and six hosts. Overall, legumes responded to inoculation with a 47% increase in growth and a 36% increase in the frequency of effective nodules when compared to the uninoculated controls. Farmer awareness of biological nitrogen fixation appears to be a major limitation in the use of inoculants. Overall, l16 households were surveyed in 5 counties, 98% cultivated legumes, 59% applied nitrogen fertilizers, 40% were aware of the potential benefits of root nodulation, 15% were aware of inoculants and 9% were currently using them. Different patterns of farmer awareness were noted in different counties. en_US
dc.identifier.citation Woomer, P. L. et al. (1997). Indigenous populations of rhizobia, legume response to inoculation and farmer awareness of inoculants in East and Southern Africa: African crop science conference proceedings, 3: 297-308 en_US
dc.identifier.issn 1023-070X
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10570/206
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher African Crop Science Society (ACSS) en_US
dc.subject Biological nitrogen fixation en_US
dc.subject Household surveys en_US
dc.subject Rhizobium ecology en_US
dc.subject Network experimentation en_US
dc.title Indigenous populations of rhizobia, legume response to inoculation and farmer awareness of inoculants in East and Southern Africa en_US
dc.type Conference paper en_US
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