Effectiveness of Rhizobium strains on faba bean (Vicia fabae L.) at Gumer district, highland area of Southern Ethiopia
Abstract
The biological fixation of Nitrogen by legumes is one of the well-known ways of fixing atmospheric nitrogen to plant-available form. However, effectiveness in nitrogen fixation depends on the genotype of legumes and requires host specific Rhizobium strain for effective nodulation to boost the productivity of legumes. Thus, the field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of three Rhizobium inoculants of faba bean (FB 1018, FB 1035, and FB 04) laid in randomized complete block design with three replications from June 2019 to December 2020. Inoculation of faba bean revealed a highly significant (p ≤ 0.05) effect on all parameters compared to the un-inoculated plants. Over years results showed that inoculated plants gave a significant increase in nodule number against the un-inoculated plants. Correspondingly, all the plants that treated with Rhizobium inoculums gave grain yield advantage over the control. The highest yield (5.875 ton/ha) was recorded from inoculates of FB 1018+60kg/ha TSP compared to the un-inoculated that gave 2.48 t/ha. Rhizobium strains undertaken for evaluation behave better in ecologically competent and symbiotically effective in nodulation for increased yield and thus recommended for the study area and similar agro-ecologies.