African Journal of
Biotechnology

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Biotechnol.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1684-5315
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJB
  • Start Year: 2002
  • Published Articles: 12487

Full Length Research Paper

Microbial activity of soil during the inoculation of soya bean with symbiotic and free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria

Gorica Cvijanović1*, Gordana Dozet1, Vojin Djukić,2 Snežana ĐorÄ‘ević3 and Goran Puzić4
1Faculty of Biofarming, Megatrend University, Marsala Tita 39, Bačka Topola, Serbia. 2Institute for Field and Vegetable Crops, M. Gorkog 30, Novi Sad, Serbia. 3Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade, Nemanjina 6, Zemun, Serbia. 4Faculty of Business studies, Megatrend University, Youth Square 1, Vršac, Serbia.
Email: [email protected]

  •  Accepted: 31 October 2011
  •  Published: 10 January 2012

Abstract

Soya bean has a great importance in the organic production due to its ability to coexist with nitrogen-fixing bacteria of the genus Bradyrhizobium. The soya bean seed inoculated with the symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria Bradyrhizobium japonicum and with a mixture of nitrogen-fixing bacteria was observed in this study. The following highly efficient strains of free nitrogen-fixing bacteria were in the liquid inoculum:Azotobacter chroococcum, Azospirillum lipoferum, Beijerinckia Derx and Klebsiella planticola. Beside bacterization, different rates of pure nitrogen per hectare were applied (0, 40, 60, 80 kg N/ha). The effect of nitrogen-fixing bacteria at different levels of mineral nitrogen on the abundance of those groups of soil microorganisms and on the amounts of (NO3+NH4)- N/ha at the end of the growing season was determined. Three-year bacterization resulted in the significant increase of the observed parameters. The highest values when inoculation was done with mixed nitrogen-fixing bacteria were obtained with the application of 40 kg N/ha. The application of both types of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soya bean production is a very beneficial activity from ecological and economical aspects. Therefore, this measure should be accepted, especially in relation to soils contaminated with excess use of mineral nitrogen fertilisers.

Key words: Fertilising, nitrate and ammonium nitrogen, nitrogen-fixing bacteria, soya bean.