The effect of Rhizobia and fertilizer on pea (Pisum sativa) and maize (Zea mays) plants
N. Naidoo
Abstract
Climate change is increasing at an unprecedented rate and will affect the growth and development of many plants. Climate change is expected to affect developed and developing countries differently with greater vulnerabilities in regions in the low-latitude (Darwin and Kennedy, 2000).
The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of Rhizobia and fertilizer on pea (Pisum sativa) and maize (Zea mays) plants. The objective of this study is to grow pea and maize plants subject to 4 different treatments, namely, with Rhizobia and fertilizer (+R+F), with Rhizobia only (+R-F), with fertilizer only (-R+F) and without Rhizobia and fertilizer …show more content…
The environment provides plants with water, light, heat, elements and compounds which are critical for plant growth (Billings, 1952). Optimum environmental conditions vary amongst species. Some plants may find certain factors favourable while other plants may find those factors unfavourable. These environmental factors determine if a plant will grow or not and its performance which is measured by the plants yield. One of the major limiting factors of plant growth is nitrogen (Franche, et al., 2009). To convert nitrogen into a suitable form for plants to use, molecular nitrogen is reduced to ammonia by a biological process known as nitrogen fixation (Franche, et al., …show more content…
Growth-promoting diazotrophs are able to enhance growth and development of some crops by transferring fixed nitrogen and improving nutrient uptake (Biswas et al., 2000). This could indicate that the Rhizobia had little to no effect on the maize seedlings. Bacteria which induce nodules are capable of colonizing the roots on non-legume plants and they produce HCN, phytohormones and siderophores (Antoun et al., 1998). Rhizobium etli usually forms nitrogen-fixing nodules on the common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, however it is a natural maize endophyte (Rosenblueth and Martínez-Romero,
N. Naidoo
Abstract
Climate change is increasing at an unprecedented rate and will affect the growth and development of many plants. Climate change is expected to affect developed and developing countries differently with greater vulnerabilities in regions in the low-latitude (Darwin and Kennedy, 2000).
The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of Rhizobia and fertilizer on pea (Pisum sativa) and maize (Zea mays) plants. The objective of this study is to grow pea and maize plants subject to 4 different treatments, namely, with Rhizobia and fertilizer (+R+F), with Rhizobia only (+R-F), with fertilizer only (-R+F) and without Rhizobia and fertilizer …show more content…
The environment provides plants with water, light, heat, elements and compounds which are critical for plant growth (Billings, 1952). Optimum environmental conditions vary amongst species. Some plants may find certain factors favourable while other plants may find those factors unfavourable. These environmental factors determine if a plant will grow or not and its performance which is measured by the plants yield. One of the major limiting factors of plant growth is nitrogen (Franche, et al., 2009). To convert nitrogen into a suitable form for plants to use, molecular nitrogen is reduced to ammonia by a biological process known as nitrogen fixation (Franche, et al., …show more content…
Growth-promoting diazotrophs are able to enhance growth and development of some crops by transferring fixed nitrogen and improving nutrient uptake (Biswas et al., 2000). This could indicate that the Rhizobia had little to no effect on the maize seedlings. Bacteria which induce nodules are capable of colonizing the roots on non-legume plants and they produce HCN, phytohormones and siderophores (Antoun et al., 1998). Rhizobium etli usually forms nitrogen-fixing nodules on the common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, however it is a natural maize endophyte (Rosenblueth and Martínez-Romero,