EFFECT OF RHIZOBIA INOCULATION ON THE SEED (HERBAGE) PRODUCTION OF MUNGBEAN (PHASEOLUS-AUREUS ROXB.) GROWN AT UZBEKISTAN

In field trials conducted at Uzbekistan, inoculation of mungbean (Phas eolus aureus Roxb.) with commercial strain CIAM1901 of Bradyrhizobium sp. (Phaseolus) increased (on average for two cultivars) the herbage m ass by 46.6 +/- 6.0%, seed mass by 39.2 +/- 3.6%, mass of 1000 seeds b y 16.0 +/- 0.8%, nitrogen content in seeds by 58.3 +/- 8.9%, starch co ntent in seeds by 30.0 +/- 5.5% and number of nodules by 254%. Inocula tion with this strain produced the same herbage (seed) mass as NH4NO3 application (120 kg ha(-1) of N), while the combined treatment of rhiz obia and 60 kg ha(-1) of N produced significantly higher yields than r hizobia inoculation alone or application of 120 kg ha(-1) of N. The rh izobia strain M11 was isolated from Uzbekistan soils and significantly exceeded the commercial strain CIAM1901 in its influence on herbage m ass by 3.9-10.6%. Two factor analysis of variance demonstrated that th e herbage mass and number of nodules are controlled mainly by the rhiz obia strain genotypes, while seed yield, number of pods, mass of 1000 seeds and N and starch content in seeds are influenced by the plant cu ltivar genotypes. (C) 1998 Academic Press.