Improvement of the symbiotic interaction bean-rhizobia

Abstract

Crop legumes as the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) have been used extensively in agriculture over the past century, mainly for maintaining soil fertility. The low fertility has a negative impact on the legume-rhizobia symbiotic relationship reducing the ability of rhizobia to form nodules with optimal N2-fixing capacity. The symbiotic fixation of nitrogen (SNF) provides an ecologically acceptable alternative to the high applications of nitrogenous fertilizers, and an economic alternative to the limited access to these fertilizers of the developing countries. Inoculation is required to increase yield through N2 fixation and to reduce the external inputs. There is an important genotypic variability associated with SNF potential and amount of N2 fixed, that emphasizes the need to explore the potential of indigenous rhizobial strains for improving the symbiotic performance of the common bean. The objective of this work was to identify common bean germplasm useful to improve SNF potential.