Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

15N-Determined effect of inoculation with N2 fixing bacteria on nitrogen assimilation in Western Canadian wheats

  • Published:
Plant and Soil Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

A two-year field study was undertaken using15N isotope techniques to differentiate between stimulation of N uptake and N2 fixation in Western Canadian cultivars of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L. emend Thell) and durum (T. turgidum L. emend Bowden) in response to inoculation with N2-fixing bacteria.

Bacterial inoculation either had no effect or lowered the % N derived from the fertilizer and the fertilizer use efficiency. Despite the depression of fertilizer uptake, inoculants did not alter the relative uptake from soil and fertilizer-N pools indicating that bacterial inoculation did not alter rooting patterns. Nitrogen-15 isotope dilution indicated that N2 fixation did occur.

In 1984, % plant N derived from the atmosphere (% Ndfa) due to inoculation with Bacillus C-11-25 averaged 23.9% while that withAzospirillum brasilense ATCC 29729 (Cd) averaged 15.5%. In 1985, higher soil N levels reduced these values by approximately one-half. Cultivar x inoculant interactions, while significant, were not consistent across years. However, these interactions did not affect cultivars ‘Cadet’ and ‘Rescue’. In agreement with previous results, ‘Cadet’ performed well with all inoculants in both years while ‘Rescue’ performed poorly.

Among 1984 treatments, the N increament in inoculated plants was positively correlated with % Ndfa but no such correlation existed in 1985. N2 fixation averaged over all cultivars and strains was 17.9 and 6.7 kg N fixed ha−1 in 1984 and 1985, respectively. Highest rates of N2 fixation were estimated at 52.4 kg N ha−1 for ‘Cadet’ in 1984 and 31.3 kg N ha−1 for ‘Owens’ in 1985, both inoculated with Bacillus C-11-25, an isolate from southern Alberta soils. Inoculation with either ofAzospirillum brasilense strain Cd (ATCC29729) or 245 did not result in as consistent or as high N2 fixation, suggesting that these wheats had not evolved genetic compatability with this exogenous microorganism. These agronomically significant amounts of N2 fixation occurred under optimally controlled experimental conditions in the field. It is yet to be determined if N2 fixation would occur in response to bacterial inoculation under dryland conditions commonly occurring in Western Canada.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Avivi Y and Feldman M 1982 The response of wheat to bacteria of the genus Azospirillum. Israel J. Bot. 31, 237–245.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Baldani V L D, Baldani J I and Dobereiner J 1983 Effects of Azospirillum inoculation on root infection and nitrogen incorporation in wheat. Can. J. Microbiol. 29, 924–929.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Baldani V L D and Dobereiner J 1980 Host-plant specificity in the infection of cereals withAzospirillum spp. Soil Biol. Biochem. 12, 433–439.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Biggins D R and Postgate J R 1969 Nitrogen fixation by cultures and cell-free extracts ofMycobacterim flavum 301. J. Gen. Microbiol. 56, 181–193.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Bremner J M 1965 Total nitrogen.In Methods of Soil Analysis. Vol. 2. Ed. C A Black pp 1149–1178. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, WI.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Cahmakci M L, Evans J J and Seidler R J 1981 Characteristics of nitrogen-fixingKlebsiella oxytoca isolated from wheat roots. Plant and Soil 61, 53–63.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Döbereiner J 1977 Plant genotype effects on nitrogen fixation in grasses.In Genetic Diversity in Plants. Eds. A Muhammed, R Aksel, and R C von Borstel, pp 325–334. Plenum Press, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Elliott L F, Gilmour C M, Cochran V L, Coley C and Bennett D 1979 Influence of tillage and residues on wheat root microflora and root colonization by nitrogen-fixing bacteria.In The Soil-Root Interface. Edited by J L Harley and R Scott Russell. pp. 243–258. Academic Press, London.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Fried M and Dean L A 1952 A concept concerning the measurement of available soil nutrient. Soil Science 73, 263–271.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Germida J J 1985 Population dynamics ofAzospirillum brasilense and its bacteriophage in soil.In Nitrogen Fixation with Non-Legumes. Eds. F A Skinner and P Uomala. pp 117–118. Martinus Nijhoff Pubs. Dordrecht, Holland.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Hino S and Wilson P W 1957 Nitrogen fixation by a facultative bacillus. J. Bacteriol. 75, 403–407.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Inbal E and Feldman M 1982 The response of a hormonal mutant of common wheat to bacteria of the genus Azospirillum. Israel J. Bot. 31, 257–283.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Johnson V A and Mattern P R 1977 Genetic improvement of productivity and nutritional quality of wheat. Rep. Res. Findings U.S. Agency Int. Dev. Contract No. AID/ta-C-1093.

  14. Kapulnik Y, Kigel J, Okon Y, Nur I and Henis Y 1981 Effect of Azospirillum inoculation on some growth parameters and N-content of wheat, sorghum and panicum. Plant and Soil 61, 65–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Kapulnik Y, Sarig S, Nur I and Okon Y 1983 Effect of Azospirillum inoculation on yield of field-grown wheat. Can. J. Microbiol. 29, 895–899.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Kundu B S and Gaur A C 1980 Establishment of nitrogen-fixing and phosphate-solubilizing bacteria in the rhizosphere and their effect on yield and nutrient uptake of wheat crop. Plant and Soil 57, 223–230.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Larson R I and Neal J L Jr. 1978 Selective colonization of the rhizosphere of wheat by nitrogen-fixing bacteria.In Environmental Role of Nitrogen-Fixing Blue-Green Algae and Asymbiotic Bacteria. Ed. U Granhall. Vol. 26. pp 331–342. Ecol. Bull. (Stockholm).

  18. Lethbridge G and Davidson M S 1983 Root-associated nitrogen-fixing bacteria and their role in the nitrogen nutrition of wheat estimated by15N isotope dilution. Soil Biol. Biochem. 15, 365–374.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Lethbridge G, Davidson M S and Sparling G P 1982 Critical evaluation of the acetylene reduction test for estimating the activity of nitrogen-fixing bacteria associated with the roots of wheat and barley. Soil Biol. Biochem. 14, 27–35.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Mariotti A 1983 Atmospheric nitrogen is a reliable standard for natural15N abundance measurements. Nature 303, 685–687.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Mishustin E M 1970 The importance of non-symbiotic nitrogen-fixing microorganisms in agriculture. Plant and Soil 32, 545–554.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Neal J L Jr and Larson R I 1976 Acetylene reduction by bacteria isolated from the rhizosphere of wheat. Soil Biol. Biochem 8, 151–155.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Nelson A D, Barber L E, Tjepkema J, Russell S A, Powelson R, Evans H J and Seidler R J 1976 Nitrogen fixation associated with grasses in Oregon. Can. J. Microbiol. 22, 523–530.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Neyra C A and Dobereiner J 1977 Nitrogen fixation in grasses. Adv. Argon. 29, 1–38.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Pederson W L, Chakrabarty K, Klucas R V and Vidaver A K 1978 Nitrogen fixation (acetylene reduction) associated with roots of winter wheat and sorghum in Nebraska. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 35, 129–135.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Porter L K and O’Deen W A 1977 Apparatus for preparing nitrogen from ammonium chloride for nitrogen-15 determinations. Anal. Chem. 45, 514–516.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Rai S N and Gaur A C 1982 Nitrogen fixation byAzospirillum spp. and effect ofAzospirillum lipoferum on the yield and N-uptake of wheat crop. Plant and Soil 69, 233–238.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Rennie R J 1980 Dinitrogen-fixing bacteria: computer-assisted indentification of soil isolates. Can. J. Microbiol. 26, 1275–1283.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Rennie R J 1981 Potential use of induced mutations to improve symbioses of crop plants with N2-fixing bacteria.In Induced Mutations — a Tool in Plant Breeding. International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna. pp. 293–321.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Rennie R J 1986 Comparison of methods of enriching a soil with15N to estimate N2 fixation by isotope dilution. Agron. J. 78, 158–163.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Rennie R J, de Freitas J R, Ruschel A P and Vose P B 198315N isotope dilution to quantify dinitrogen (N2) fixation associated with Canadian and Brazilian wheat. Can. J. Bot. 61, 1667–1671.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Rennie R J and Larson R I 1979 Dinitrogen fixation associated with disomic chromosome substitution lines of spring wheat. Can. J. Bot. 57, 2771–2775.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Rennie R J and Larson R I 1981 Dinitrogen fixation associated with disomic chromosome substitution lines of spring wheat in the phytotron and in the field.In Associative N2-Fixation. Vol. I. Eds. P B Vose and A O Ruschel. pp. 145–154. CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, FL.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Rennie R J, Rennie D A and Fried M 1978 Concepts of15N usage in dinitrogen fixation studies.In Isotope in Biological Dinitrogen Fixation. pp 107–133. International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Reynders L and Vlassak K 1982 Use ofAzospirillum brasilense as biofertilizer in intensive wheat cropping. Plant and Soil 66, 217–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Ross P J and Martin A E 1970 A rapid procedure for preparing gas samples for N-15 determination. Analyst 95, 817–822.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Steel R G C and Torrie J H 1960 Principles and Procedures of Statistics. McGraw-Hill, Toronto. 481 p.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Subba Rao N S 1980 Crop response to microbial inoculation.In Recent Advances in Biological Nitrogen Fixation. Ed. N S Subba Rao. Edward Arnold. pp 406–420. London.

  39. Zambre M A, Konde B K and Sonar K R 1984 Effect ofAzotobacter chroococcum andAzospirillum brasilense inoculation under graded levels of nitrogen on growth and yield of wheat. Plant and Soil 79, 61–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Esso Chemical Canada, T1J 4A9, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

    R. J. Rennie

  2. Agriculture Canada Research Station, T1J 4B1, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

    J. B. Thomas

Authors
  1. R. J. Rennie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. J. B. Thomas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

Contribution from Agriculture Canada Research Station, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Rennie, R.J., Thomas, J.B. 15N-Determined effect of inoculation with N2 fixing bacteria on nitrogen assimilation in Western Canadian wheats. Plant Soil 100, 213–223 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02370942

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02370942

Key words

Search

Navigation