Effect of nitrogen fertilizer on yield of beans inoculated with Rhizobium phiseoli

Abstract

There have been reports of legumes responding to application of nitrogen fertilizers and there are suggestions that even where legume seeds are inoculated with effective strains of Rhizobium phaseoli, a nitrogen starter dose might be necessary (Gibson l98l; van Rensburg and Strijdom l98l). A starter dose is a low nitrogen fertilizer rate that would not adversely affect nodulation, but which would benefit the legume when cotyledon nitrogen is depleted and fixed nitrogen is still unavailable (van Rensburg and Strijdom 1981). This field experiment investigated the effects of low and high doses of nitrogen fertilizer on the yield of common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) when the seeds are inoculated with R. phaseoli.