Selection of High Nitrogen-Fixing Rhizobia Nodulating Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) for Semi-Arid Tunisia

• Published in: Journal of agronomy and crop science (1986) Vol. 194; no. 6; pp. 413 - 420
• Main Authors: Ben Romdhane, S, Aouani, M.E, Trabelsi, M, de Lajudie, P, Mhamdi, R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Oxford, UK : Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-12-2008; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; Blackwell; Wiley
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Bacteria; Biological and medical sciences; chickpea; chickpeas; Cicer arietinum; competitiveness; crop yield; cultivars; dryland farming; Environmental Sciences; field experimentation; field inoculation; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Life Sciences; Mesorhizobium; Mesorhizobium ciceri; Mesorhizobium mediterraneum; microbial genetics; nitrogen fixation; nitrogen-fixing bacteria; nodulation; polymerase chain reaction; restriction fragment length polymorphism; rhizobia; ribosomal DNA; root nodules; salt stress; salt tolerance; semiarid zones; soil inoculation; strains; symbionts; symbiosis; water deficiency; yield; Tunisia; North Africa; Africa; Water; Competitiveness; field inoculation; Climatic zone; Field; Inoculation; Cicer arietinum; Semi arid zone; Dicotyledones; Agronomy; Angiospermae; yield; Nitrogen fixation; Bacteria; water deficiency; Arid environment; Nodulation; Chick pea; chickpea; Grain legume; Leguminosae; rhizobia; Prokaryote; Spermatophyta; Microorganism; Rhizobiaceae; COMPETITIVENESS; WATER DEFICIENCY; CHICKPEA; FIELD INOCULATION; YIELD; POIS CHICHE; RHIZOBIA
• ISSN: 0931-2250; 1439-037X
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-037X.2008.00328.x

Inoculation of grain legumes with rhizobia may improve biological N₂ fixation and crop yield. However, drought, high temperature and soil salinity constrain legume root-nodule formation and function. Here, two rhizobial strains nodulating Tunisian chickpea, Mesorhizobium ciceri strain CMG 6 and Mesorhizobium mediterraneum strain CTM 226 originating from semi-arid regions, were selected for their symbiotic performance and their salt stress tolerance (3 % NaCl). Both strains were then examined as inoculants in different soils and field conditions. Field experiments were conducted in four sites using four chickpea cultivars. Rhizobia occupying nodules in non-inoculated plots were isolated and characterized using 16S rDNA typing; to examine nodule occupancy by the inoculant strains we used polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism of 16S rDNA gene and repetitive extragenic palindromic PCR. The inoculant strains gave a significant increase in nodule number, shoot dry weight and grain yield in all the experimented fields for the four cultivars used, even in the non-irrigated soils. The improvement in plant production was equal to or better than nitrogen fertilization. Moreover, the monitoring of the nodule occupancy showed that inoculant strains competed well in the native populations of rhizobia. These results suggest that nodulation and yield of chickpea can be improved by inoculation with competitive and salt-tolerant rhizobia and is economically promising to increase chickpea production in water-limited regions.