Prospects of rhizobial inoculant technology on Bambara groundnut crop production and growth
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Date
2022
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Frontiers
Abstract
After peanuts and cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata), the Bambara groundnut (Vigna
subterranea (L.) Verdc) is the third most significant food legume in Africa. It is
characteristically grown in marginal soils, is drought tolerant, and also has the
potential for nitrogen fixation. Despite that, year-on-year Bambara groundnut
yields are on a gradual decline due to a combination of abiotic and biotic
stresses such as uneven annual rainfall and climate-induced changes in soil
microbial community compositions, negatively impacting food security. Thus,
the application of rhizobial inoculants at planting significantly improves yields in
many leguminous crops. Moreover, symbiotic inoculants are well established in
developed countries for improving nitrogen fixation and productivity in grain
legumes. Sub-Saharan African countries, however, still under-utilise the above
practice. In crop production, nitrogen (N) is the most frequently deficient
nutrient since it stimulates root and shoots growth. Whereas nitrogen
fertilisers can be used to supplement soil N levels, they are, however, also
costly, at times inadequate, may not be timely in supply and may have
deleterious environmental consequences. Hence, rhizobial inoculants are
seen as a cheaper, easier, and safer method for improving N-fixation and
crop productivity in grain legumes, as a result, smallholder farming systems are
food secure. Thus, identifying the most efficient rhizobial strains for biofertiliser
production for Bambara groundnut is of utmost importance to the
farming communities.
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Keywords
Bambara groundnuts, food security, legumes (Fabaceae, productivity, biofertiliser, rhizobia