The legume-rhizobia symbiosis and assessing the need to inoculate

Title
The legume-rhizobia symbiosis and assessing the need to inoculate
Publication Date
2016
Author(s)
Giller, K E
Herridge, David
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0423-2517
Email: dherridg@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:dherridg
Sprent, J I
Editor
Editor(s): John Gregory Howieson and M J Dilworth
Type of document
Book Chapter
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)
Place of publication
Canberra, Australia
Edition
1
Series
ACIAR Monograph Series
UNE publication id
une:20171
Abstract
Legumes are a major component of all agrarian systems throughout the world. They are particularly attractive to low input systems of agriculture because they take inert nitrogen from the air and (through rhizobia) transform it into proteins in a process that leaves no carbon footprint. But beware, legumes differ in their adaptation to infertile soils, and the right legume must be chosen for each environment. Legumes are many and varied. The grain legumes provide protein-rich food, and soybean and groundnut are also important oilseed crops (Table 1.1). Pasture or fodder legumes are important for livestock feed in various forms: in grazed systems, as feed concentrates made from their grains, or in cut-and-carry systems where animals are kept in stalls. Woody or tree legumes produce a number of useful products apart from poles and construction materials; they are important sources of feed and browse for livestock and several of them produce edible fruits. The other major uses of legumes are for soil fertility improvement, through cover crop protection of the soil from erosion, and as green manures contributing nitrogen to improve soil fertility.
Link
Citation
Working with rhizobia, p. 15-24
ISBN
9781925436181
9781925436174
Start page
15
End page
24

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