plantandsoil141119-135,1992.docVIP

Plant and Soil 141: 119-135, 1992. (C 1992 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. PLSO SA07 Potential for increasing biological nitrogen fixation in soybean HAROLD H. KEYSER and FUDI LI NifTAL Project, University of Hawaii, 1000 Holomua Ave., Paia, HI 96779, USA and Laboratory for Biological Nitrogen Fixation, Huazhong (Central China) Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, Peoples Republic of China Key words: biological nitrogen fixation, Bradyrhizobium japonicum, competition, genetics, Glycine max, inoculation, limiting factors, Sinorhizobium Table of contents Abstract Introduction Importance of soybean in world agriculture Recent soybean statistics The need to increase soybean productivity within sustainable systems Biological nitrogen fixation in the soybean-bradyrhizobia symbiosis Amounts of N2 fixed Assimilation of nitrogen Host-strain compatibility Competition for nodule occupancy Research strategies to increase BNF in soybean Selection and engineering of bradyrhizobia Selection and breeding of soybean genotypes Improved inoculation techniques Production strategies to increase BNF in soybean Inoculant production, quality control and training Matching soybean genotypes to the environment Management of other inputs Concluding remarks References Abstract The importance of soybean as a source of oil and protein, and its ability to grow symbiotically on low-N soils, point to its continued status as the most valuable grain legume in the world. With limited new land on which to expand, and emphasis on sustainable systems, increases in soybean production will come mostly from increased yield per unit area. Improvements in biological nitrogen fixation can help achieve increased soybean production, and this chapter discusses research and production strategies for such improvement. The soybean-Bradyrhizobium symbiosis can fix about 300 kg N ha-1 under good conditions. The Introduction