here - First Legume Society Conference (LSC1)

Book of Abstracts First Legume Society Conference 2013: A Legume Odyssey Novi Sad, Serbia, 9-11 May 2013
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Improving the efficiency of biological nitrogen fixation of chickpea Cicer arietinum L.
Mariia Donskaia 1 , Andrej Vasilchikov 1 , Tatiana Naumkina 1 , Galina Suvorova 1 , Vladimir
Naumkin 2
1 The All-Russia Research Institute of Legumes and Groat Crops, Orel, Russia
2 Orel State Agrarian University, Orel, Russia
Chickpea Cicer arietinum L. is characterized by high dietary diversity as a food crop. At the same
time it has a high resistance to drought and heat. In the Russian Federation the chickpea is grown
on the area over 100 thousand hectares. It can be used as an insurance culture instead of peas in
the central regions of Russia with frequent droughts. Introduction of chickpea in the north
regions is restrained mainly because of the lack of well-adapted varieties with short growth period
and crop management practice. Inoculation with nitrogen fixing bacteria Mesorhizobium ciceri
(strain 527 ARRIAM) and fungi of arbuscular mycorrhiza Glomus was applied in order to increase
nitrogen fixation efficiency. Research was carried out in 2010-2012 at the field of the All-Russia
Research Institute of Legumes and Groat Crops on the dark-gray forest soils with a humus
content of 4,7 - 4,9%. 13 chickpea accessions received from the Vavilov Research Institute were
tested in this study. Use of microbiological agents increased plant height by 0,9 – 9,4%.
Maximum increase of seed yield per plant of 61,1- 69,4% was observed in variant with dual
inoculation with rhizobia and fungi. Maximum amount of nodules formed in case of single
rhizobia inoculation and was 79 nodules per plant, maximum nitrogenase activity was recorded at
the level of 256 µg N 2/plant/h in variant with dual inoculation. Total seed yield of chickpea in
variants with microbe inoculation increased by 0,2 – 0,7 t/ha over control.
Acknowledgements
The reported study was supported by RFBR, research project No.12-04-97552
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