Inoculating Legumes: A Practical Guide

Abstract

This handbook was written by a group of Australian experts in the field of rhizobiology and nitrogen fixation from universities and state departments of agriculture and primary industries, many of whom work within the National Rhizobium Program (NRP) ... The major geographic focus of the handbook is the wheat-sheep belt (essentially 100% of Australia's grain production and >50% of wool production), with a minor focus on the high-rainfall belt (about 30% of Australia's wool production). The key audiences are growers, grower groups, commercial and government advisers, agribusiness, research agronomists, legume breeders, seed pelleters, resellers and seed merchants. It is intended that material from this handbook can be extracted and used in training workshops. Workshops would need to be tailored to the particular group. For example, the material used in workshops for individual growers/grower groups may be different for seed pelleters. By using the handbook and/or after participating in workshops that use materials from the handbook, users should have an increased knowledge of legumes and legume nodulation in farming systems, should more effectively use inoculation as a key farm practice, and should have achieved higher farm productivity through enhanced legume nitrogen fixation and system N supply.