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https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/8099
Title: | The contributions of nitrogen-fixing crop legumes to the productivity of agricultural systems | Contributor(s): | Peoples, M B (author); Brockwell, J (author); Sampet, C (author); Rerkasem, B (author); Khan, DF (author); Hauggaard-Nielsen, H (author); Jensen, ES (author); Herridge, David (author)![]() |
Publication Date: | 2009 | DOI: | 10.1007/BF03179980 | Handle Link: | https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/8099 | Abstract: | Data collated from around the world indicate that, for every tonne of shoot dry matter produced by crop legumes, the symbiotic relationship with rhizobia is responsible for fixing, on average on a whole plant basis (shoots and nodulated roots), the equivalent of 30–40 kg of nitrogen (N). Consequently, factors that directly influence legume growth (e.g. water and nutrient availability, disease incidence and pests) tend to be the main determinants of the amounts of N₂ fixed. However, practices that either limit the presence of effective rhizobia in the soil (no inoculation, poor inoculant quality), increase soil concentrations of nitrate (excessive tillage, extended fallows, fertilizer N), or enhance competition for soil mineral N (intercropping legumes with cereals) can also be critical. Much of the N₂ fixed by the legume is usually removed at harvest in high-protein seed so that the net residual contributions of fixed N to agricultural soils after the harvest of legume grain may be relatively small. Nonetheless, the inclusion of legumes in a cropping sequence generally improves the productivity of following crops. While some of these rotational effects may be associated with improvements in availability of N in soils, factors unrelated to N also play an important role. Recent results suggest that one such non-N benefit may be due to the impact on soil biology of hydrogen emitted from nodules as a by-product of N₂ fixation. | Publication Type: | Journal Article | Source of Publication: | Symbiosis, 48(1-3), p. 1-17 | Publisher: | Springer Netherlands | Place of Publication: | Netherlands | ISSN: | 1878-7665 0334-5114 |
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: | 070306 Crop and Pasture Nutrition 070302 Agronomy |
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: | 820405 Soybeans 820503 Grain Legumes 820499 Summer Grains and Oilseeds not elsewhere classified |
Peer Reviewed: | Yes | HERDC Category Description: | C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal |
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Appears in Collections: | Journal Article School of Environmental and Rural Science |
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