Erratic nodulation and nitrogen fixation in field-grown pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.]

1991 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 653 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Brockwell ◽  
JA Andrews ◽  
RR Gault ◽  
LG Gemell ◽  
GW Griffith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
N2 Fixation ◽  
Cajanus Cajan ◽  
New South ◽  
Acid Soils ◽  
Grain Legume ◽  
Alkaline Soils ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
Experimental Findings

Following numerous reports of nodulation failures in pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] crops in New South Wales, a series of experiments was conducted in glasshouses and at 6 locations in the field. When inoculated seed was grown in moist vermiculite or in sand beds in the glasshouse, pigeonpea nodulated, and fixed N2, normally; but at 3 sites in the field, we could detect neither nodulation nor N2 fixation, despite adequate inoculation or a population of suitable rhizobia in the soil. At another site there was only sporadic occurrence of effective nodules. Nitrogen was fixed at 2 of the 3 field sites on acid soils, but at 1 site it appeared that nodulation was due to a naturally occurring population of soil rhizobia and not to the inoculant. When comparisons were made, pigeonpea was invariably inferior to symbiotically related legumes, cowpea and adzuki bean, in nodulation and N2 fixation. This inferiority was associated with substantially poorer rhizobial colonisation of pigeonpea rhizospheres. The experimental findings confirmed the anecdotal evidence that pigeonpea is an erratically nodulating grain legume on neutral and alkaline soils.

Soil pH is a major determinant of the numbers of naturally occurring Rhizobium meliloti in non-cultivated soils in central New South Wales

1991 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 211 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Brockwell ◽  
A Pilka ◽  
RA Holliday
Keyword(s):  
Soil Ph ◽  
Rhizobium Meliloti ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Acid Soils ◽  
Alkaline Soils ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Dominant Soil ◽  
The Relationship

Measurements were made of soil pH, frequency of occurrence of annual species of Medicago (medics) and populations of Rhizobium meliloti at 84 sites on 7 dominant soil groups of the Macquarie region of central-western New South Wales. Over all sites, soil pH (0-10 cm; 1:5 soil: water) ranged from 5.26 to 8.07, medic frequency from 0 to 100% and most probable numbers of R. meliloti from undetectable to 675 000/g soil. There was a highly significant (P<0.001) relationship between soil pH and number of R. meliloti. Above pH 7.0, the mean soil population of R. meliloti was 89000/g; below pH 6.0, it was 37/g. Medics occurred most frequently on the more alkaline soils and with least frequency on the more acid soils, but the relationship between soil pH and medic frequency was weaker than between pH and R. meliloti number. Medics were more tolerant of low soil pH than their rhizobia were; at 2 sites, of pH 5.49 and 5.35, medics occurred at 100% frequency but R. meliloti was undetected. There was an indication of some acidification in these soils over a period of 35 years but this remains to be confirmed.

An evaluation of eight soil phosphate extractants on acidic wheat growing soils

Soil Research ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 647 ◽  
Author(s):  
ICR Holford ◽  
BR Cullis
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiments ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Acid Soils ◽  
Critical Values ◽  
Alkaline Soils ◽  
Wheat Field ◽  
Extraction Procedures ◽  
Soil Phosphate ◽  
South Wales

In a study using earlier data from 44 wheat field experiments on acidic (pH < 5.6) soils in southern New South Wales, eight soil phosphate extractants (Bray,, Bray,, neutral fluoride, Mehlich, Truog, lactate, Olsen and Colwell) were evaluated and calibrated in terms of responsiveness (�) and response curvature (C) parameters derived from the Mitscherlich equation. All extraction procedures, except Colwell, had a standard shaking time of 30 min and so1ution:soil ratio of 50. The order of efficacy of the tests was different from that obtained on moderately acid to alkaline soils of central and northern New South Wales. Neutral fluoride and acidic sulfate (Truog) replaced lactate as the best extractant, followed by the double acid Mehlich extractant. The Colwell test was more effective on these very acid soils than on the more alkaline soils, being equal to Bray1 and greatly superior to Bray2 and Olsen. The critical values of the fluoride, Mehlich, Truog, lactate and Colwell tests were significantly lower than they were for more alkaline soils in central New South Wales. The changes in extraction procedures could explain the lower critical values of the lactate and Truog tests, but differences in the critical values of the other three tests were inconsistent with changes in extraction procedures. The results support the hypothesis that a different phosphate extractant is required on very acid soils from that required on moderately acid to alkaline soils.

The residual effect of phosphorus on soil fertility and pasture development on acid soils

1951 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 377 ◽  
Author(s):  
AJ Anderson ◽  
KD McLachlan
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
New South ◽  
Total Yield ◽  
Acid Soils ◽  
Residual Effect ◽  
Early Years ◽  
High Fertility ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Phosphate Fixation ◽  
Nitrogen Demand

A study was made of the residual effect of superphosphate applied to pasture on acid soils on the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales. The effect of the superphosphate on the development of clover and subsequent changes in soil fertility and development of grass was examined. Only a limited proportion of the phosphorus applied was taken up by the pasture over the period of the experiments, but the evidence obtained suggests that this cannot be ascribed merely to phosphate fixation in the soil. The residual phosphorus was little, if any, less effective than current dressings over a number of years. The total yield of pasture was dependent almost entirely on the amount of superphosphate applied, and frequency of application had little or no effect on the total yield. A single dose at the commencement of the trials was as effective in increasing the total yield and the uptake of phosphorus as were annual dressings. High fertility and grass dominance were achieved by heavy annual dressings of superphosphate or by application of the bulk of the phosphorus in the early years. Lighter annual dressings resulted in clover dominance. Some advantages of heavier, less frequent application of superphosphate are discussed. Competition for phosphorus was an important factor in suppression of the clover by the grass. Evidence was presented in support of a hypothesis that grass or clover dominance is dependent both upon the vigour and fertility requirements of the species and upon the relation between the nitrogen demand of the pasture unit and the soil nitrogen status.

The effect of biosolids on cereals in central New South Wales, Australia. 1. Crop growth and yield

2005 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 435 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
Soil Ph ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Acid Soils ◽  
Crop Growth ◽  
Growth And Yield ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Sludge Cake ◽  
Dewatered Sewage Sludge

Two forms of biosolids, with and without lime, were applied to acid soils at 2 sites in central New South Wales. Wheat and triticale were then grown on these sites to determine the effect of biosolids on crop growth and yield. The forms of biosolids used were dewatered sewage sludge cake, and N-Viro Soil which is a lime amended sewage sludge. Dewatered sewage sludge cake was applied at rates of 0, 6, 12 and 24 dry Mg/ha, and N-Viro soil at 0, 1.5, 3.0 and 4.5 dry Mg/ha. Biosolids produced grain yield increases of over 50% at both sites, with the largest yield increases at the highest rate of dewatered sewage sludge. Continued cropping at 1 of the sites showed that significant yield increases were still obtained 3 years after the initial application. The addition of lime and N-Viro Soil raised soil pH, and produced small but long lasting yield increases. However, the main benefit of biosolids seems to have come from the nutrients they supplied rather than changes in soil pH.

The growth of improved pastures on acid soils. 1. The effect of superphosphate and lime on soil pH and on the establishment and growth of phalaris and lucerne

1985 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 149 ◽  
Author(s):  
LJ Horsnell
Keyword(s):  
Soil Ph ◽  
New South ◽  
Acid Soils ◽  
Potassium Sulfate ◽  
First Year ◽  
Growth Responses ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Large Growth ◽  
Lime Application ◽  
Effect Of Surface

The response of improved pastures to the application of superphosphate is low on the acid sedimentary soils, of the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, which contain high levels of exchangeable aluminium. An investigation was made into the effect of surface-applied fertilizers on soil pH and on the establishment and growth of lucerne and phalaris on these soils. At 6 weeks after the application of gypsum, superphosphate, or superphosphate plus potassium sulfate, soil pH (H2O) had decreased markedly. This effect extended to a depth of 20 cm, but decreased with time. Initially, lime application increased the pH of the surface soil only. When superphosphate was applied with lime the pH of the soil under the lime layer decreased to the same level as that found in the soil treated with superphosphate alone. Lime, however, had penetrated into the subsoil 102 weeks after application and substantially more so after 13 years. Soil pH (0.01 M CaCl2) was not depressed by the application of fertilizers. Growth and persistence of both species in the first summer were poor, but growth responses to phosphorus, lime and nitrogen increased after the first year. Lucerne showed large growth responses to lime, greater than those found on plots receiving nitrogen fertilizer. Lime reduced aluminium levels both in lucerne plants and in soil. It is suggested that the slow penetration of lime into the soil, the relatively quick effect of superphosphate in increasing subsoil acidity, and high soil aluminium levels are together responsible for the poor persistence and slow growth of both lucerne and phalaris in the early stages. The subsequent large dry matter responses of lucerne to lime are possibly related to increased nitrogen fixation and a lowering of plant and soil aluminium levels. It is suggested that the lime responses of phalaris are also related to lower aluminium levels.

The assessment of available manganese and aluminium status in acid soils under subterranean clover pastures of various ages

1983 ◽  
Vol 23 (121) ◽  
pp. 192 ◽  
Author(s):  
SM Bromfield ◽  
RW Cumming ◽  
DJ David ◽  
CH Williams
Keyword(s):  
Ammonium Acetate ◽  
New South ◽  
Acid Soils ◽  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Exchange Capacity ◽  
Manganese Toxicity ◽  
Manganese Concentration ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Yield Responses ◽  
Practical Measure

Three methods of estimating available manganese and aluminium status in acid soils were compared on three groups of soils from the Pejar district near Goulburn, New South Wales in which differences in pH had been brought about by different periods under subterranean clover pasture. Managanese extracted by 0.01 M calcium chloride gave the best correlation with the manganese concentration in rape and subterranean clover grown in pot culture, and provided the best index of available manganese. Soil solution manganese was inferior to CaCl2-extractable manganese and was more difficult to determine. Extraction with neutral ammonium acetate was unsatisfactory because this reagent overestimated available forms of manganese in soils containing high levels of reactive manganese. Aluminium extracted by 0.01 M CaCl2 was well correlated with exchangeable aluminium and with percentage aluminium saturation of the effective cation exchange capacity. None of the three measures of aluminium status alone was an effective index for predicting lime response by rape on these soils because both manganese and aluminium status were involved in this response. These three parameters were equally effective in multiple regressions for yield responses of rape to lime. Because of its relative ease of determination, CaCl2 extraction is preferred as a practical measure of aluminium status. Aluminium interacted with and increased the toxic effects of manganese in rape. Thus CaCl2-extractable manganese alone only provided a satisfactory index of a 'critical' value for manganese toxicity in rape for soils low in available aluminium. Subterranean clover was only slightly affected by aluminium and manganese levels in these soils, and manganese toxicity symptoms were only observed on soils containing 50 ppm or more CaCl2-extractable manganese. Nodulation failure in pots occurred in all soils with pH below 5.2 (water) or below 4.3 in CaCl2, whereas nodulation was normal when these soils were treated with CaCO3 to raise the pH to 5.8-6.0 (water). With one exception nodulation appeared adequate at field sites from which soils showing nodulation failure in the glasshouse had been collected.

Production of summer crops in northern New South Wales. I. Effects of tillage and double cropping on growth, grain and N yields of six crops

1992 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 105 ◽  
Author(s):  
DF Herridge ◽  
JF Holland
Keyword(s):  
N2 Fixation ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Growth Yield ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Tillage Practice ◽  
Grain Yields ◽  
Double Cropping ◽  
South Wales

The effects of tillage practice and double cropping on growth, yield and N economies of summer crops were examined in field experiments near Tamworth, northern New South Wales. Sorghum, sunflower, soybean, mungbean, cowpea and pigeon pea were sown into alkaline, black earth soils which contained either high (Site A, sown January 1983), moderate (Site B, sown December 1983), or low concentrations of nitrate (Site C, sown December 1984). During the previous winters, the land had been sown to wheat (double crop) or fallowed using cultivation or no-tillage practices. At Sites A and B, dry matter yields, averaged over all crops, were increased by 34 and 14% under no-tillage. Average increases in grain yields at the two sites were 22 and 11%. At Site C, tillage practice did not affect yields. Soybean showed the greatest responses to no-tillage. Increases in grain yields were 46, 15 and 18% for Sites A, B and C respectively. The least responsive legume was mungbean. Yields of sorghum were increased by 41% at Site A; responses at Sites B and C ranged between a 9% decrease and a 7% increase. With double cropping, grain yields were, on average, 18 (Site A), 81 (Site B) and 72% (Site C) of the yields in the cultivated (fallow) plots. However, when comparisons were made for the 12 month periods, i.e. wheat and summer crops v. fallow and summer crops, production was more than doubled at Site B and tripled at Site C, compared with the cultivated fallow. Significant in the responses to double cropping were the 192 (Site B) and 230 mm rainfalls (Site C) during November and December that replenished the soil profile with water to a depth of >0.75 m. Assessments of soybean N2 fixation using the ureide method indicated large effects of site and season on the proportion of plant N derived from N2 fixation (range, 0-0.83), on the amount of N2 fixed (range, 0-233 kg N ha-1) and on the N balance as a result of the cropping (range, -69 to +45 kg N ha-1).

Survey of the productivity, composition and estimated inputs of fixed nitrogen by pastures in central-western New South Wales

2004 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
pp. 1165 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Bowman ◽  
W. Smith ◽  
M. B. Peoples ◽  
J. Brockwell
Keyword(s):  
White Clover ◽  
N2 Fixation ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
New South ◽  
Perennial Grass ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Legume Species ◽  
Forage Production ◽  
South Wales

Total productivity and legume nitrogen fixation (N2 fixation) in dryland pastures were examined in a 2 year study (1999–2001) on 118 farms in central-western New South Wales. Pasture exclosure cages, placed at 217 on-farm sites, were harvested on 7 occasions and the foliage hand-sorted according to species in order to measure shoot dry matter (DM). The separated legume shoot material collected in spring 1999 (52 different legume samples) and 2000 (76 different legume samples) from a subset of representative pastures (41 cages on 28 different farms in 1999, 32 cages on 25 different farms in 2000) was also analysed for concentration of nitrogen (%N) and 15N natural abundance. These data were subsequently used to calculate the proportion of the legume shoot N derived from atmospheric N (%Ndfa), comparative measures of the relative efficiency of N2 fixation (kg N fixed/t DM accumulated) and the amounts of shoot N fixed (kg N/ha). The survey encompassed 8 common pasture types, and 5 others that were less common, ranging from native perennial grass pastures with little legume content to lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) pastures with and without companion clovers. Fifteen legume species were found in the pastures, some only occasionally. Lucerne and white clover (Trifolium repens L.) were the only perennials. Mean spring estimates of %Ndfa were similar in 1999 and 2000 for lucerne (72 and 81%, respectively), rose clover (T. hirtum All., 82 and 77%) and annual medics (Medicago spp., 89 and 86%). For the remaining 12 legume species, measures of %Ndfa ranged from 64 to 95% and averaged 83%. Shoot %N contents were greater for lucerne than for the other 14 legumes and this was reflected in the comparative measures of N2 fixation which ranged from 14.5 kg N/t DM for rose clover to 25.7 kg N/t DM for lucerne in 2000. The most productive pasture type comprised lucerne plus balansa clover [T. michelianum Savi var. balansae (Boiss.) Azn.], white clover or arrowleaf clover (T. vesiculosum Savi), but all pasture types that contained lucerne were highly productive. Spring was the most productive season and summer the least. Lucerne was overwhelmingly the most productive legume and was responsible for >83% of the fixed N in those pastures that contained both lucerne and other legumes. Lucerne productivity was approximately uniform throughout the year whereas, for other pastures, especially those based on rose clover or subterranean clover (T. subterraneum L.), there were sharp peaks in spring and little or no dry matter production over summer. The presence of lucerne in pastures significantly (P<0.05) reduced broadleaf weeds. It was concluded that, where there are requirements in central-western New South Wales agriculture for uniform forage production throughout the year and a high input of fixed N, lucerne is substantially superior to other species.

Failure of liming to increase grain yield of wheat and triticale in acid soils may be due to the associated increase in incidence of take-all (Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici)

1987 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 411 ◽  
Author(s):  
GM Murray ◽  
BJ Scott ◽  
Z Hochman ◽  
BJ Butler
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Grain Yield ◽  
Soil Ph ◽  
New South ◽  
Acid Soils ◽  
Gaeumannomyces Graminis ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Expected Increase ◽  
Gaeumannomyces Graminis Var Tritici ◽  
Take All

Lime was applied at rates from 0 to 5.0 t ha-1 at 4 sites in southern and central New South Wales. A root and crown disease characterised by basal stem blackening affected up to 60% of wheat plants and 80% of triticale plants when the soil pH in 0.01 mol L-1 CaCl2 was above 5.0 at all 4 sites. Below pH 4.8, incidence was less than 5%. The take-all fungus, Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici, was consistently associated with this symptom. Losses in grain yield from the disease ranged from 26 to 77% depending on site. Regression analysis indicates that each 10% increase in plants with basal stem blackening decreased yield by 0.76%. These results demonstrate that the disease can reverse the expected increase in yield after liming, and that progressive acidification of the soils in the region may have caused the present reduced amount of take-all.

Lime responses by barley as related to available soil aluminium and manganese

1991 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 379 ◽  
Author(s):  
MK Conyers ◽  
MK Conyers ◽  
GJ Poile ◽  
GJ Poile ◽  
BR Cullis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dry Matter ◽  
New South ◽  
Extraction Procedure ◽  
Acid Soils ◽  
Dry Matter Yield ◽  
Pyrocatechol Violet ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Exchangeable Al ◽  
Pot Trials ◽  
Extractable Al

Twenty-three surface soils (0-10 cm) sampled from major New South Wales lime trials were incubated at six lime rates, from 0 to 10 t/ha, and used in pot trials with barley (Hordeurn vulgare cv. Schooner) which was grown for five weeks. Each replicate pot was soil tested for exchangeable cations (Ca, Mg, K, Na, Mn, Al), pH in 0.01 M CaCl2, and Al in the 0.01 M CaCl2 extract by pyrocatechol violet (total Al) and by reaction for 15 s in 8-hydroxyquinoline (monomeric Al). The latter was also converted to the activity of Al3 in the 0.01 M CaCl2 extract. The soil tests were compared for their prediction of the dry matter yield of whole tops of barley. The four tests for aluminium (exchangeable Al as Al/ECEC; total 0.01 M CaCl2 extractable Al; monomeric 0.01 M CaCl2 extractable Al; and Al3+ activity in 0.01 M CaCl2) were each better indicators of the infertility of the acid soils than soil pH. The prediction of the dry matter yield of barley by the four aluminium tests was improved by the inclusion of exchangeable soil manganese in the statistical analysis. The use of 0.01 M CaCl2 is recommended as a routine extraction procedure for diagnosing Al toxicity. Soil Mn should also be measured and included in correlations with barley growth. Pyrocatechol violet is the recommended analytical procedure for Al owing to its comparative simplicity.

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