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Agronomical parameters of host and non-host legumes inoculated with Melilotus indicus-isolated rhizobial strains in desert unreclaimed soil

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Abstract

In a search for identification of rhizobial strains with superior N2-fixation efficiency and improved plant agronomic characteristics upon inoculation, four strains, 4.21, 9.17, 11.2 and 14.1, isolated from root nodules of wild-grown Melilotus indicus have been used to inoculate field-grown common bean, pea, cowpea and fenugreek plants. Uninoculated plants and those inoculated with host-specific commercial inoculants were used as a control. The root length, shoot height, shoot dry weight and root dry weight and the grain yield of the plants were determined after harvest. The content of N, organic C and carbohydrates content of the grain were also recorded. The inoculation with the strains 4.21 and 14.1 increased the grain yield of the fenugreek compared both with the uninoculated plants and those inoculated with the commercial strain ARC-1. The grain yield of the common bean treated with the strains 9.17 and 14.1 was also higher than that of the uninoculated and the commercial strains ARC-301. In contrast, none of the strains increased the grain yield of the pea and cowpea plants compared to the commercial strains ARC-201 and ARC-169, respectively. Significant increases of some agronomical parameters were observed in some plant–bacterium couples, albeit nodulation was not observed. It is possible that the positive effects of rhizobial inoculation on the agronomical parameters of the non-nodule forming legumes could be due to plant growth promotion characteristic of the strains used for inoculation. Analysis of the phylogeny of the almost complete 16S rRNA sequence of the rhizobial inoculants revealed that the strains 4.21 and 9.17 clustered together with R. skierniewicense and R. rosettiformans, respectively, and that the strains 11.2 and 14.1 grouped with E. meliloti. All the four strains produced IAA, and showed biocontrol activity against Rhizotocnia solani, Fusarium oxysporum, Pythium ultimum, Alternaria alternata and Sclerotonia rolsfi, albeit to a different extent.

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Acknowledgements

This study was Granted by the Sadat City University. The authors thank Dr. R. Elsaid Mohamad and Mr. A. H. Soliman Dobble for assistance with statistics and field experiments, respectively. Financial support was also obtained from the ERDF-cofinanced project AGL2017–85676R from Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (Spain).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Studies and Research Institute (ESRI), University of Sadat City, Sadat City, Menoufiya, Egypt

    Nadia H. El Batanony, Arafa Mamdouh & Nofal Ashraf

  2. Department of Soil Microbiology and Symbiotic Systems, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, CSIC, 419, Granada, Spain

    Antonio Castellano-Hinojosa & Eulogio J. Bedmar

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  1. Nadia H. El Batanony
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  2. Antonio Castellano-Hinojosa
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Correspondence to Antonio Castellano-Hinojosa.

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Communicated by Erko Stackebrandt.

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Batanony, N.H.E., Castellano-Hinojosa, A., Mamdouh, A. et al. Agronomical parameters of host and non-host legumes inoculated with Melilotus indicus-isolated rhizobial strains in desert unreclaimed soil. Arch Microbiol 202, 1929–1938 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-020-01907-x

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